Knowledgebase

This kit (Pine part number AKCABLE5) provides a generic cell cable which is compatible with the WaveNow and WaveNano potentiostats.

The WaveNow and WaveNano potentiostats feature an HD-15 cell connection port located on the side of the potentiostat. This port presents several signal, shield, and grounding lines for the working, counter, and reference electrode connections.

The Shielded Cell Cable kit breaks out the various cell port lines to shielded coaxial cables which terminate at stacked banana plugs. This kit also comes with alligator clips that slide on to the banana plugs. The banana plugs are color coded according to the standard PRI electrode color scheme used on all Pine products since the year 2007.

WaveNow/WaveNano Shielded Cell Cable Kit (part number AKCABLE5)

Current is driven through the electrochemical cell between the working electrode and the counter electrode. A pair of signal lines are used to drive charge between these electrodes. The working electrode drive line (working) is the coaxial cable which terminates at a RED banana plug. The counter electrode drive line (counter) is the coaxial cable which terminates at a GREEN banana plug. Because the primary current path through an electrochemical cell is between the working electrode and counter electrode, most of the charge flowing through the cell will travel through these two cables.

Potentials in the electrochemical cell are sensed using signal lines with high input impedance. Very little charge flows through these high impedance signal lines. The potential difference between the working electrode and the reference electrode is measured using a pair of high impedance sense lines. The working electrode sense line (working sense) is the coaxial cable which terminates at an ORANGE banana plug. The reference electrode sense (reference) line is the coaxial cable which terminates at the WHITE banana plug.

A separate signal ground line which terminates at a BLACK banana plug is also provided. This ground line should be connected to any Faraday cage that might be in use to shield the electrochemical cell from electromagnetic noise sources. If you are using a rotating electrode, it is a good idea to connect this ground line to the metal body of the rotator.

The working sense signal should be shorted together with the working drive line at a point very near the electrochemical cell. This is usually accomplished by stacking the ORANGE banana cable with the RED banana cable. Alternately, you may clip the alligator clip of the working sense line (ORANGE) to the alligator clip on the working drive line (RED).

Short the Working Sense to the Working Electrode

If you are using this cable kit to make connections to a Pine rotating electrode, you may connect the working drive line (RED banana plug) to one of the disk pickup brushes and then connect the working sense line (ORANGE banana plug) to the opposite disk pickup brush.

If you are using a reference electrode with a “pin” connector, then simply slide an alligator clip on to the WHITE banana plug and use the clip to attach to the pin connector.

Connect Alligator Clip to Reference Electrode Pin

Part numbers for various items in this kit are provided in the table below.