How to polish the Working electrodes' surface with PK-3

Polishing procedure
  1. Prepare the glass plate, and put a few drops of polishing diamond on a wetted diamond polishing pad.
  2. Hold the CV electrode at right angle to the pad, and polish in a circular motion.
  3. Replace the diamond pad to an alumina polishing pad, put a few drops of polishing alumina, and polish the electrode to be mirror surface. Rinse the electrode surface with distilled water, and finish by air drying.
  4. Using a new alumina polishing pad, polish few times the electrode (for removing the alumina particles remaining on the electrode surface). Rinse the electrode surface with distilled water, and finish by air drying.
 
Polishing procedure gif

Attention: Polishing with PK-3 is the most appropriate way to clean up electrode surface. Please consult us when other methods are applied.Please, don't use poor quality alumina, as it is not enough efficient for polishing.

Polishing with PK-3 movie 

 

Polishing of PFCE Electrode & Pyrolytic Graphite Electrode

For the electrodes listed below,

Catalog No. Description Isolation OD ID
002252 PGBE Pyrolytic Graphite Electrode (Basal Plane) PEEK 6 mm 3 mm
002253 PGEE Pyrolytic Graphite Electrode (Edge Plane) PEEK 6 mm 3 mm
002408 PFCE 3 Carbon electrode PEEK 6 mm 3 mm
002409 PFCE 1 Carbon electrode PEEK 6 mm 1 mm
011854 SPFCE Carbon electrode PEEK 3 mm 1 mm

 

It is recommended the follow polishing step:
  1. Put a few drops of distilled water on the emery paper, and polish for 10 seconds. If necessary increase the polishing time.
  2. Then rinse the electrode with distilled water.
  3. After rinse, ultrasonic cleaning for 10 seconds (in the case of 65 W - 100 W ultrasonic cleaner).
    Or polishing the electrode using alumina pad with a few drops of distilled water for about 10 seconds.
  4. Then rinse the electrode again with a distilled water.
  5. Dry the electrode and it is ready for the measurement.
 

∗For the PGBE electrode (Cat. No. 002252), because of the material characteristics, it is difficult to keep the perfect basal surface. For the precise PGBE basal surface treatment evaluation, you can have the publications below as a reference.
 

  • J. Phys. Chem.: Vol. 98 (1994), p. 5314; Vol. 96 (1992), p. 3124
  • Anal. Chem.: Vol. 64 (1992), p. 2518; Vol. 61 (1989), p. 1637; Vol. 69(1997), p. 4680 
 

The assessment of the basal and edge surface is done by measuring the Raman spectra. This method is reported in the last two publications mentioned above.

∗notice
Do not polish with a finer grade of emery paper ( #6000 etc.). PFCE electrode does not need mirror finishing like a GC electrode. 

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