Optically Transparent Thin Layer Electrochemical (OTTLE) Cells
The University of Reading now offers reliable and high-level air-tight OTTLE cells for UV-Vis-NIR-IR-FIR and (resonance) Raman spectroelectrochemistry at variable temperatures. Following 20 years of practical experience and development, by Professor Frantisek Hartl, user-friendly Room Temperature (RT) and Low Temperature (LT) OTTLE cells are now available to research chemists in academic and industrial institutions.
The cells supply a market which has grown in response to the increasingly popular development in situ monitoring of spectroscopic changes accompanying electrochemical processes. To date (2012) they have been deployed in more than 75 research laboratories worldwide and cited in ca 400 peer-reviewed publications.
Benefits of technology
The technology has many valuable attributes, particularly the efficiency and cost reductions associated with:
• the ability to study reactions involving highly oxygen- and moisture-sensitive free radicals without the need for specialist containment.
· the cell is small and can be fitted into conventional spectro(photo)meters with little modification.
• the cell uses a small sample volume and electrolysis can be completed rapidly.
Applications:
Spectroelectrochemical techniques have been widely used in applications ranging from inorganic chemistry and organic chemistry to biochemistry, in the studies of:
· redox pathways and series
· electro catalytic reactions
· mixed-valence complexes
· redox active coordination and organometallic compounds
· electron transfer in proteins and biomolecules
Key Features:
There are two distinct types of cells currently available:
· The room-temperature UV-Vis-NIR-IR-FIR optically transparent thin-layer (spectro) electrochemical (OTTLE) cell can also be employed for (resonance) Raman spectroelectrochemistry. Several customisable options are available including modification for (time-resolved) laser, 2D IR, VCD, ECL or epifluorescence microscopy measurements.
· The low-temperature UV-Vis-NIR-IR has been based on a double walled liquid-nitrogen-bath cryostat equipped with CaF2 windows. This allows performance of combined IR/UV-Vis OTTLE experiments, as the cryostat containing the OTTLE cell can be readily moved from one spectro(photo)meter to another even during electrolysis. It is very reliable, completely air-tight and relatively easy to handle. The temperature can be lowered down to 180 K for butyronitrile solutions (please note that the temperature limit is known to be very dependent on the solvent used, due to differences in solubility of the particular supporting electrolyte used) and maintained constant within 1 Kelvin to support stable spectral baselines.
Availability:
Equipment is available for sale as a research tool. Contact us to discuss your requirements and obtain a quote.
Further Information:
Technical details of the products and examples of the practical applications of the cells are available at http://www.reading.ac.uk/chemistry/research/chem-spectroelectrochemistry.aspx
and http://www.reading.ac.uk/web/FILES/chemistry/SEC_Applications.pdf
Contact details:
Prof. Frantisek Hartl +44 (0) 118 378 7695
email f.hartl@reading.ac.uk