Application of 3D Printers to Fabricate Low-Cost Electrode Components for Undergraduate Experiments and Research Benjamin Schmidt, Michaela Pacholok, David King, and James Kariuki* Cite This: J. Chem. Educ. 2022, 99, 1160-1166 Read Online ACCESS Metrics & More Article Recommendations * sı Supporting Information ABSTRACT: Many electroanalytical techniques utilize three-electrode systems consisting of reference, counter, and working electrodes. These electrodes are often expensive when purchased commercially, making low- cost alternatives a vital area of research. Cheaper alternatives have been proposed; however, they often require time-consuming assembly techniques or materials that are difficult to work with. This technology report outlines the production and testing of an Ag/AgCl reference electrode, a platinum (Pt) counter electrode, and a carbon paste working electrode. These electrodes have been designed using 3D printing technology, which has become increasingly more available at educational institutions. By utilizing 3D printing technology, these adaptable designs can be produced quickly and at a fraction of the cost of commercially available electrodes. The lab-made Ag/AgCl reference and Pt counter electrodes were tested via cyclic voltammetry (CV) experiments with orange juice and ruthenium hexaamine as analytes. The results obtained were statistically similar in all obtained measurements. The carbon paste working electrode was tested in potassium ferricyanide for both variable scan rate and concentration responses. In these tests, the lab-made electrode performance compared favorably to commercial electrodes. This demonstrates the viability of our method in the production of low- cost, reliable electrodes that can be used in a variety of electroanalytical experiments. KEYWORDS: Second-Year Undergraduate, Analytical Chemistry, Hands-On Learning/Manipulatives, Testing/Assessment, Electrochemistry, Laboratory Equipment/Apparatus ■ INTRODUCTION Electrochemistry, which is an interchange of chemical and electrical energy, utilizes electrical measurements of chemical systems for analytical purposes. 1 The teaching of electro- chemistry laboratories in undergraduate laboratories is usually hampered by expensive components that include electrodes used in electrochemical techniques. Many electrochemical techniques utilize three-electrode setups (including working electrodes, reference electrodes, and counter electrodes) 2 During electrochemical experiments, reference electrodes, for example, an Ag/AgCl reference electrode, is used to measure the experimental potential against a stable standard, counter electrodes act to complete the electrical circuit, allowing current to flow between the working and counter electrode as oxidation or reduction occurs, and the working electrode is the site of the reduction or oxidation of the analyte. 1 With standard commercial prices of 100-300 USD per electrode, the cost of these electrodes can impede the introduction of electrochemical techniques in undergraduate laboratories (see the Supporting Information for electrodes’ price details). In the existing literature, low-cost electrode designs have been developed including the production of a counter electrode through the deposition of a platinum film on glass, 3 a reference electrode with the outer shell made with an autopipettor tip, 4 and the use of glass pipets with platinum wire junctions as reference electrodes. 5 However, the preparation of these electrodes is time-consuming, and most importantly, lacks adaptability in design, making them not ideal for use in undergraduate laboratories. With the increasing availability of 3D printers and associated user-friendly software 6 at both educational institutions and public facilities such as libraries, 7 their applications have been widespread in emerging technologies and educational tools. The use of 3D printing technology has been reported for printing educational models, 8-21 carbon nanotubes-based microsupercapacitors, 22 copolymer nanostructures, 23 hydro- gels, 24 laboratory equipment and hardware, including a colorimeter, 25 fluorometer, 26 polarimeter, 27 optical hardware, 28 chemical experiments, 29 contact angle measurement system, 30 Received: December 13, 2021 Revised: January 30, 2022 Published: February 15, 2022 Technology Report pubs.acs.org/jchemeduc Published 2022 by American Chemical Society and Division of Chemical Education, Inc. 1160 https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.1c01215 J. Chem. Educ. 2022, 99, 1160-1166 Downloaded via 54.166.238.37 on March 9, 2022 at 14:25:52 (UTC). See https://pubs.acs.org/sharingguidelines for options on how to legitimately share published articles.