A new electrochemical cell adapted to quartz crystal microbalance measurements

As the resonance frequency of an oscillating quartz changes upon the deposition of a given mass to the crystal surface, it can be used as a very sensitive mass measuring device. Despite a growing interest in the use of electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance (EQCM), there is still no commercial available measurement cell which can satisfy all the conditions needed in electrochemical investigations. The design and characteristics of a new electrochemical cell adapted to EQCM measurements are presented. The sensitivity of the microbalance, which is determined by several calibration runs of silver electrodeposition is (183.2±2.9) Hz μg⁻¹ cm². This value, which is close to the theoretical one, confirms the validity of the system we have developed. The calibration procedure and the EQCM using range are then discussed.