A simple and low-cost portable potentiostat with real-time data sharing for wireless electrochemical analyses

In this work, we developed a new wireless and battery-powered potentiostat. The device interfaces with a smartphone using a Bluetooth protocol to receive the experimental data and visualize them in real-time. This approach simplifies the design and decreases both size and cost of the device. We developed an open Android application named BluChem for controlling the device wirelessly, in addition to an API and a web site that can be used in remote locations for data processing and management. This new integration model is presented for the first time for data acquisition and displaying of the results. It allows users non-present locally in the experiment to access, edit, process, and manage the results, opening new opportunities for real-time data acquisition and application in extreme or remote onsite conditions. The developed device is also the first to perform five different electrochemical techniques in a single device: chronoamperometry, cyclic voltammetry, linear sweep voltammetry, differential pulse, and square wave voltammetry. Different measurements validated the performance of the proposed device compared with analogous performance using a conventional benchtop instrument. The results obtained by the two instruments were almost superimposable, and current values were statistically equal (& rho; > 0.05). The current and voltage operational ranges of the new potentiostat (& PLUSMN;1.5 V, & PLUSMN;1 mA) are more limited than benchtop potentiostats. However, its operating range is sufficient for most electroanalytical analyses. The potentiostat is also simple, small in size, inexpensive (< 40 USD), wireless, and completely integrated and controlled by a smartphone and a website. Therefore, this device can be considered a remote, wearable, and onsite electroanalysis landmark.

Automated summary

We developed a new wireless and battery-powered potentiostat that interfaces with a smartphone to receive and visualize experimental data in real-time. This device simplifies the design and reduces the size and cost. We also created a mobile app and a website for wireless control and data processing. The device is capable of performing five different electrochemical techniques and showed comparable performance to a conventional benchtop instrument. Its limited operating range is sufficient for most electroanalytical analyses, making it a remote and wearable electroanalysis landmark.