Steady State Staircase Voltammetry

In steady state staircase voltammetry, the device under test (DUT) is polarized from a starting potential (usually OCV) to an ending potential (usually where the DUT reaches its maximum current) in small discrete steps. After each potential step, the system waits until the DUT current reaches a defined steady state condition. This steady state value is recorded as the measurement at the respective voltage step.

This technique is used to study electrode reactions and mass transport phenomena, particularly when steady-state conditions are required. It offers advantages over linear sweep voltammetry in certain applications, especially when surface-confined processes are involved.

Parameter Description

Parameter	Name	Description	Unit
E start	start potential	starting DC potential can be set in absolute potential or relative to OCV	V
E step	step potential	potential of each step for the staircase function	V
E end	end potential	maximum DC potential of the last step can be set in absolute potential or relative to OCV	V
t settle	settle time	settling time at E start before the first I-V step is stimulated	s
t step	step duration	duration of each step of the staircase function of I-V	s
t hold	hold time	time window from the start of potential step in which the termination criterion do not yet apply (minimum runtime)	s
Stability	\(\frac{|∆I|}{∆t}\)	current stabilization criterion for steady-state condition	\(\frac{A}{s}\)
ODR	output data rate	number of measurement points per second note: the current is always measured at the maximum possible speed and integrated for the selected data rate	\(\frac{1}{s}\)
I range	current range (abs)	optional fixed current range selection if autoranging is disabled	A
I min	minimum current	minimum current limit for premature staircase determination	A
I max	maximum current	maximum current limit for premature staircase determination	A

A Start Phase Potentiostatic can be enabled or disabled before the method is executed.

Measurement Result

Steady state staircase voltammetry can resolve surface-confined processes that may be obscured by capacitive charging current in linear sweep voltammetry.

Custom Experiment Builder

This experiment is a combination of the following blocks:

• Open Circuit Measurement

• Ramp - Current Voltage Curve

• Steady State Staircase