Stopping and disassembling the cell
- General chemistry laboratory skills
Once your experiment has concluded, save your data files, power down and disconnect the potentiostat.
Stop the pumps and drain the electrolyte from the reservoirs into a waste container. Add water and run the pumps for several seconds to rinse the cell and tubing. Repeat until there is the drained solution is clear.
Dispose of chemical waste according to local regulations.
Disconnect the cell from the jig in four locations, leaving the tubing attached to all four barbs/ports of the two flow frames:
- at each pump, going from the pump to the flow frame (x2)
- at the double-ended barbed fittings between the flow frame and the reservoir inlet (x2)
Take apart the cell, noting that you can leave the tubing attached to the flow frames as long as you do not separate the endplate/brass plate/grafoil assembly of each half-cell.
Warning
If you are going to remove the flow frame from the endplate/brass plate/grafoil assembly, be sure to REMOVE THE TUBING FIRST. Otherwise it can break, like so:
Make any observations you might have of the separator (note which way it was facing when you do so), positive and negative electrodes, etc.
Clean and store the reusable cell components.