TABLE OF CONTENTS There are a variety of materials that can be used to make electrochemical cells. The most common ones include glass (Pyrex and quartz), Teflon, Kel-F, and Nylon. A practical consideration in selecting these materials is that the materials should be easily processable, inert to the electrochemical reactions, and cost-effective. For most electrochemical reactions, a Pyrex glass cell is used because it is easy to make and glass is generally a very low cost material. However, when the reaction involves media that are corrosive to glass (e.g., high pH, hydrofluoride, etc.), Teflon, Kel-F, Nylon or other plastic materials should be used instead. In the presence of some organic solvents, however, the plastic materials might decompose leading to contamination and hence interference in sensitive measurements. It should also be noted that in the presence of some strong acids, sometimes Nylon may not be stable and therefore glass should be the material of choice.
The exact design of an electrochemical cell varies with the specific needs of an experiment. On the laboratory scale, typically if the amount of analytes is not a concern, a 25-50 mL cell (or even larger) can be used for the sake of convenience. With limited quantities of samples, a solution volume of a few mL is reasonable. Even smaller volumes of sample solutions (say, < ?L) are also possible. However, in these cases, electrodes of ultrasmall...
