Design of an Extended Experiment with Electrical Double Layer Capacitors: Electrochemical Energy Storage Devices in Green Chemistry

Abstract

An extended undergraduate experiment involving electrochemical energy storage devices and green energy is described herein. This experiment allows for curriculum design of specific training modules in the field of green chemistry. Through the study of electrical double layer capacitors, students learned to assemble an electrical double layer capacitor and perform electrochemical measurements (cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic charge-discharge) to evaluate the effect of various electrolytes. In addition, students powered a diode with the electrical double layer capacitors. We use the laboratory module to successfully connect electrochemistry with green chemistry through the study of a real-world application. In addition, a green chemistry case study was introduced to the laboratory curriculum. During the experiment, students acquired fundamental experience in electrochemistry and gained analysis skills, critical thinking, and scientific literacy. The results of this work can be used as a case study on green chemical education that considers the students’ awareness of renewable and clean energy fields.

Use of Cyclic Voltammetry to Describe the Electrochemical Behavior of a Dual-Chamber Microbial Fuel Cell

“…Energies 2019, 12, x FOR PEER REVIEW 3 of 17 electrochemical reaction can be detected with the presence of peaks associated with a standard potential, using a reference electrode [10]. Furthermore, with the use of the CV it is possible to obtain information of the conductivity of the studied system such, as it is the case of the electrochemical storage systems where the measurements are collected in the absence of a reference electrode; as a result the measurements are recorded on a working electrode and a counter electrode [16]. Thus, in this paper, cyclic voltammetry regarding three potentiostat settings was used to describe the electrochemical behavior of a dual-chamber MFC operated under different inner pressure conditions, reaction times and sweep potentials.…”

“…On the other hand, due to the complexity of wastewater composition and the processes involved during degradation, it is critical to use in the MFC different electrode configurations in the CV measurements in order to visualize individually the electrochemical behavior on each electrode; as a result, this protocol allows us to understand for instance the electron transfer interactions in the interface electrode-biomass/biofilm-liquor in the anode chamber of MFC, as well as identify if a particular electrochemical reaction can be detected with the presence of peaks associated with a standard potential, using a reference electrode [10]. Furthermore, with the use of the CV it is possible to obtain information of the conductivity of the studied system such, as it is the case of the electrochemical storage systems where the measurements are collected in the absence of a reference electrode; as a result the measurements are recorded on a working electrode and a counter electrode [16].…”

Electrochemical characterisation of nanoparticulate zirconium dioxide-on-gold electrode for electrochemical detection in flow-based analytical systems

“…mV and potential scan rate ranging from 10 to 800 mV s -1 (n= 3). At zero scan rate, charging current resulting from the double layer effects [57,58] was observed during the measurement.…”

Low-cost smartphone-controlled potentiostat based on Arduino for teaching electrochemistry fundamentals and applications

“…Electrochemical instrumentation is essential for numerous real-world applications, including environmental monitoring [ 1 ], industrial process control [ 2 ], analytical chemistry [ 3 ], sensors development [ 4 ], energy-storing systems [ 5 , 6 ], catalysis [ 7 ], and others [ 8 , 9 ]. Although commercial potentiostats are essential for expanding research in these and other electrochemical applications, their usage is widely restricted in a low-income setting due to their high cost, ranging between $1 000 - $10 000, having the least expensive only basic functionalities [ 10 ].…”