Electrochemistry MAE - 212

1. Electrochemistry MAE-212 Dr. Marc Madou, UCI, Winter 2014 Class X Electrochemical Impedance Analysis (EIS)

2. Table of Content • Introduction • Advantages and Disadvantages • Impedance Concept and Representation of Complex Impedance Values • Nyquist plot or Cole-Cole plot • Bode plot • Summary Nyquist and Bode Plots • Review of Circuits Elements • Equivalent Circuit of a Cell • Back to Electrochemistry • Summary

3. Introduction • In EIS an electrochemical system is perturbed with an alternating current or voltage signal of small magnitude and one observes the way in which the system follows the perturbation at steady state. • EIS measures the impedance of a circuit to an applied voltage: Z(t)=E(t)/I(t) • When E (or I) is applied as a sinusoidal function in a linear system, the I (or V) response can be represented by a sum of sinusoidal functions with phase shifts. • If an equivalent circuit for the system being probed can be constructed, then the resistance or capacitance values for each circuit element can be backed out from Z.

4. Introduction • Electrical circuit theory distinguishes between linear and non-linear systems (circuits). Impedance analysis of linear circuits is much easier than analysis of non-linear ones. • A linear system ... is one that possesses the important property of superposition: If the input consists of the weighted sum of several signals, then the output is simply the superposition, that is, the weighted sum, of the responses of the system to each of the signals. • Mathematically, let y1(t) be the response of a continuous time system to x1(t) ant let y2(t) be the output corresponding to the input x2(t). • Then the system is linear if: • The response to x1(t) + x2(t) is y1(t) + y2(t) • 2) The response to ax1(t) is ay1(t) ...

5. Introduction • For a potentiostated electrochemical cell, the input is the potential and the output is the current (for a galvanostated cell it is the other way around). • Most electrochemical cells are not linear!  Doubling the voltage will not necessarily double the current. • However, electrochemical systems can be pseudo-linear. When you look at a small enough portion of a cell's current versus voltage curve, it seems to be linear. • In normal EIS practice, a small (1 to 10 mV) AC signal is applied to the cell. The signal is small enough to confine you to a pseudo-linear segment of the cell's current versus voltage curve. You do not measure the cell's nonlinear response to the DC potential because in EIS you only measure the cell current at the excitation frequency.

6. Introduction = V() / I() • Measure Z(,Vbias)

7. Introduction • Let us assume we have an electrical element to which we apply an electric field E(t) and get the response I(t), then we can disturb this system at a certain field E with a small perturbation dE and we will get at the current I a small response perturbation dI. In the first approximation, as the perturbation dE is small, the response dI will be a linear response as well. • If we plot the applied sinusoidal signal on the X-axis of a graph and the sinusoidal response signal I(t) on the Y-axis, an oval is plotted. This oval is known as a "Lissajous figure". Analysis of Lissajous figures on oscilloscope screens was the accepted method of impedance measurement prior to the availability of lock-in amplifiers (LIAs) and frequency response analyzers (FRAs).

8. Introduction Multiplier: Vx(t)sin(t) & Vx(t)cos(t) Integrator: integrates multiplied signals Display result: a + jb = Vsign/Vref Impedance: Zsample = Rm (a + jb) But be aware of the input impedance of the FRA!

9. Introduction Vpwr.amp = A k Vk A= amplification Vwork – Vref = Vpol. + V3 + V4 Current-voltage converter provides virtual ground for Work-electrode. Source of inductive effects General schematic

10. Introduction

11. Introduction FRA: Frequency Response Analysis Potentiostatic or galvanostatic measurements

12. Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) is also called AC Impedance or just Impedance Spectroscopy. The usefulness of impedance spectroscopy lies in the ability to distinguish the dielectric and electric properties of individual contributions of components under investigation. • For example, if the behavior of a coating on a metal when in salt water is required, by the appropriate use of impedance spectroscopy, a value of resistance and capacitance for the coating can be determined through modeling of the electrochemical data. The modeling procedure uses electrical circuits built from components such as resistors and capacitors to represent the electrochemical behavior of the coating and the metal substrate. Changes in the values for the individual components indicate their behavior and performance. • Impedance spectroscopy is a non-destructive technique and so can provide time dependent information about the properties but also about ongoing processes such as corrosion or the discharge of batteries and e.g. the electrochemical reactions in fuel cells, batteries or any other electrochemical process. Advantages and Disadvantages

13. Advantages and Disadvantages • Advantages. • 1. Useful on high resistance materials such as paints and coatings. • 2. Time dependent data is available • 3. Non- destructive. • 4. Quantitative data available. • Use service environments. • System in thermodynamic equilibrium • Measurement is small perturbation (approximately linear) • Different processes have different time constants • Large frequency range, Hz to GHz (and up) • Generally analytical models available • Pre-analysis (subtraction procedure) leads to plausible models and starting values • Disadvantages. • Rather expensive equipment, • Low frequencies difficult to measure • Complex data analysis for quantification.

14. AC Circuit Theory and Representation of Complex Impedance Values • Concept of complex impedance: from R to Z • Ohm's law defines resistance in terms of the ratio between voltage E and current I : • The relationship is limited to only one circuit element -- the ideal resistor. • An ideal resistor has several simplifying properties: • It follows Ohm's Law at all current and voltage levels • It's resistance value is independent of frequency. • AC current and voltage signals though a resistor are in phase with each other

15. AC Circuit Theory and Representation of Complex Impedance Values • In practice circuit elements exhibit much more complex behavior. This forces one to abandon the simple concept of a resistance only. In its place we use impedance, which is a more general circuit parameter (Z instead of R). • Like resistance R, impedance Z is a measure of the ability of a circuit to resist the flow of electrical current. • Electrochemical impedance is usually measured by applying an AC potential (current) to an electrochemical cell and measuring the current (voltage) through the cell. • Suppose that we apply a sinusoidal potential excitation. The response to this potential is an AC current signal, containing the excitation frequency and it's harmonics. This current signal can be analyzed as a sum of sinusoidal functions (for a linear system-see earlier). • The current response to a sinusoidal potential will be a sinusoid at the same frequency but shifted in phase.

16. AC Circuit Theory and Representation of Complex Impedance Values • The excitation signal, expressed as a function of time, has the form of: • E(t) is the potential at time t,Eo is the amplitude of the signal, and  is the radial frequency. The relationship between radial frequency  (expressed in radians/second) and frequency f (expressed in Hertz (1/sec).

17. AC Circuit Theory and Representation of Complex Impedance Values • In a linear system, the response signal, the current I(t), is shifted in phase () and has a different amplitude, I0: • An expression analogous to Ohm's Law allows us to calculate the impedance (=the AC resistance) of the system : • The impedance is therefore expressed in terms of a magnitude, Z0, and a phase shift, f. • Thisimpedancemayalso bewritten as a complexfunction (seenextslide) :

18. AC Circuit Theory and Representation of Complex Impedance Values • Using Eulersrelationship: • it is possible to express the impedance as a complex function. The potential is described as: • and the current response as: • The impedance is then represented as a complex number: E(t) = E0 exp(it)

19. AC Circuit Theory and Representation of Complex Impedance Values E(t) = E0cos(t), =2f I(t) = I0 cos(t-) Or, if one writes in complex notation: E(t) = E0 exp(it) I(t) = I0 exp(it - i) Z(t) = Z0 exp(i) = Z0 (cos + isin) E/I response for a resistor (=0) E/I response for a capacitor (=-90) E/I response for an inductor (=90)

20. Data Presentation:Nyquist Plot with Impedance Vector • The expression for Z() is composed of a real and an imaginary part. If the real part is plotted on the X axis and the imaginary part on the Y axis of a chart, we get a "Nyquistplot” (also Cole-Cole plot). Notice that in this plot the y-axis is negative and that each point on the Nyquist plot is the impedance Z at one frequency. • In the Nyquist plot the impedance is represented as a vector of length |Z|. The angle between this vector and the x-axis is the phase angle f. • Nyquist plots have one major shortcoming. When you look at any data point on the plot, you cannot tell what frequency was used to record that point. • Low frequency data are on the right side of the plot and higher frequencies are on the left. Y =1/Z. • A semicircle is characteristic of a single "time constant". Electrochemical Impedance plots often contain several time constants. Often only a portion of one or more of their semicircles is seen.

21. AC Circuit Theory and Representation of Complex Impedance Values • The magnitude of Z and phase angle are given by the following, respectively (with R = real and Xc = imaginary, also a and b later in the class): • The impedance Z is a kind of a generalized resistance R. The phase angle expresses the balance between capacitive and resistance components in the series circuit. For a pure resistance, φ=0; for a pure capacitance, φ=π/2; and for mixtures, intermediate phase angles are observed.

22. Data Presentation:Nyquist Plot with Impedance Vector • For a pure resistance R, E=IR, and the phase is zero. • For a pure capacitance C: • Where Xc is the capacitive reactance, 1/ωC • A comparison of R andXcshows that Xc must carry the dimensions of a resistance, but the magnitude of Xc falls with increasing frequency.

23. Data Presentation:Nyquist Plot with Impedance Vector • Take a look at the properties of a capacitor: • Charge stored (Coulombs): • Change of voltage results • in current, I: • Alternating voltage (ac): • Impedance: • Admittance:

24. Data Presentation:Nyquist Plot with Impedance Vector Impedance  ‘resistance’ Admittance  ‘conductance’: Representation of impedance value, Z = a +jb, in the complex plane (see also http://math.tutorvista.com/number-system/absolute-value-of-a-complex-number.html

25. Data Presentation:Nyquist Plot with Impedance Vector What is the impedance of an -R-C- circuit? Admittance? Semi- circle ‘time constant’:  = RC

26. R C Data Presentation:Nyquist Plot with Impedance Vector • The parallel combination of a resistance and a capacitance, start in the admittance representation: • Transform to impedance representation: • A semicircle in the impedance plane!

27. Data Presentation:Nyquist Plot with Impedance Vector fmax = 1/(6.3x310-9x105)=530 Hz R = 100 k C = 3 nF 518 Hz 1 MHz 1 Hz

28. Data Presentation:Nyquist Plot with Impedance Vector • What happens for  <<  and for  >>  ?  <<  :  >>  : This is best observed in a so-called Bode plot log(Zre), log(Zim) vs. log(f), or log|Z| and phase vs. log(f)

29. Bode plot (Zre, Zim) -1 -2

30. Bode, abs(Z), phase

31. The Bode Plot • Another popular presentation method is the "Bode plot". The impedance is plotted with log frequency on the x-axis and both the absolute value of the impedance (|Z| =Z0 ) and phase-shift on the y-axis. • The Bode plot for the RC circuit is shown below. Unlike the Nyquist plot, the Bode plot explicitly shows frequency information.

32. Data Presentation:Nyquist Plot with Impedance Vector • An electrical layer of a device can often be described by a resistor and capacitor in parallel: Voigt network.

33. Data Presentation:Nyquist Plot with Impedance Vector • When we plot the real and imaginary components of impedance in the complex plane (Argand diagram), we obtain a semicircle or partial semicircle for each parallel RC Voigt network: Nyquist plot or also Cole-Cole plot. • The diameter corresponds to the resistance R. • The frequency at the 90° position corresponds to 1/t = 1/RC

34. Data Presentation:Nyquist Plot with Impedance Vector • The Randles cell is one of the simplest and most common cell models. It includes a solution resistance, a double layer capacitor and a charge transfer or polarization resistance. In addition to being a useful model in its own right, the Randles cell model is often the starting point for other more complex models. • The equivalent circuit for the Randles cell is shown in the Figure. The double layer capacity is in parallel with the impedance due to the charge transfer reaction • The Nyquist plot for a Randles cell is always a semicircle. The solution resistance can found by reading the real axis value at the high frequency intercept. This is the intercept near the origin of the plot. This plot was generated assuming that Rs = 20  and Rp= 250  . • The real axis value at the other (low frequency) intercept is the sum of the polarization resistance and the solution resistance. The diameter of the semicircle is therefore equal to the polarization resistance (in this case 250 ).

35. Data Presentation:Nyquist Plot with Impedance Vector

36. Data Presentation:Nyquist Plot with Impedance Vector

37. Data Presentation:Nyquist Plot with Impedance Vector

38. Summary Nyquist and Bode Plots

39. Review of Circuit Elements Very few electrochemical cells can be modeled using a single equivalent circuit element. Instead, EIS models usually consist of a number of elements in a network. Both serial and parallel combinations of elements occur. Impedances in Series: Impedances in Parallel

40. Review of Circuit Elements • EIS data is commonly analyzed by fitting it to an equivalent electrical circuit model. Most of the circuit elements in the model are common electrical elements such as resistors, capacitors, and inductors. To be useful, the elements in the model should have a basis in the physical electrochemistry of the system. As an example, most models contain a resistor that models the cell's solution resistance. • Some knowledge of the impedance of the standard circuit components is therefore very important. The Table below lists the common circuit elements, the equation for their current versus voltage relationship, and their impedance: • Notice that the impedance of a resistor is independent of frequency and has only a real component. Because there is no imaginary impedance, the current through a resistor is always in phase with the voltage. • The impedance of an inductor increases as frequency increases. Inductors have only an imaginary impedance component. As a result, an inductor's current is phase shifted 90 degrees with respect to the voltage. • The impedance versus frequency behavior of a capacitor is opposite to that of an inductor. A capacitor's impedance decreases as the frequency is raised. Capacitors also have only an imaginary impedance component. The current through a capacitor is phase shifted -90 degrees with respect to the voltage.

41. Review of Circuit Elements • Suppose we have a 1 and a 4  resistor is series. The impedance of a resistor is the same as its resistance . We thus calculate the total impedance Zeq: R1 R2 • Resistance and impedance both go up when resistors are combined in series. • Now suppose that we connect two 2 µF capacitors in series. The total capacitance of the combined capacitors is 1 µF C1 C2 • Impedance goes up, but capacitance goes down when capacitors are connected in series. • This is a consequence of the inverse relationship between capacitance and impedance.

42. = Z R F = 0 o 1 = Z w C F = - 90 o Review of Circuits Elements I Resistance: E E Capacitance: I

43. Equivalent Circuit of a Cell • In a general sense, we ought to be able to represent the performance of a cell by an equivalent circuit of resistors and capacitors under a given excitation. • The elements of equivalent circuit of a cell: double-layer capacitance Cd, faradaic impedance Zf, solution resistance Rs, charge transfer resistance Rct, Warburg impedance Zw.

44. Equivalent Circuit of a Cell: Rs and Cd • Electrolyte resistance R is often a significant factor in the impedance of an electrochemical cell. A modern 3 electrode potentiostat compensates for the solution resistance between the counter and reference electrodes. However, any solution resistance between the reference electrode and the working electrode must be considered when you model your cell. • The resistance of an ionic solution depends on the ionic concentration, type of ions, temperature and the geometry of the area in which current is carried. In a bounded area with area A and length l carrying a uniform current the resistance is defined as:

45. Equivalent Circuit of a Cell: Rs and Cd • Standard chemical handbooks list  values for specific solutions. For other solutions and solid materials, you can calculate  from specific ion conductances. The units for  are Siemens per meter (S/m). The Siemens is the reciprocal of the ohm, so 1 S = 1/ohm • Unfortunately, most electrochemical cells do not have uniform current distribution through a definite electrolyte area. The major problem in calculating solution resistance therefore concerns determination of the current flow path and the geometry of the electrolyte that carries the current. A comprehensive discussion of the approaches used to calculate practical resistances from ionic conductances is beyond the scope of this class. • Fortunately, you don't usually calculate solution resistance from ionic conductances. Instead, it is found when you fit a model to experimental EIS data.

46. Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy Equivalent Circuit of a Cell: Rs and Cd A Resistance and capacitance in series In electrochemical cell: R=Rs: solution resistance C=Cd: double layer capacitance f is low: f is high:

47. Equivalent Circuit of a Cell: Rs and Cd • A electrical double layer exists at the interface between an electrode and its surrounding electrolyte. • This double layer is formed as ions from the solution "stick on" the electrode surface. Charges in the electrode are separated from the charges of these ions. The separation is very small, on the order of angstroms. • Charges separated by an insulator form a capacitor. On a bare metal immersed in an electrolyte, you can estimate that there will be approximately 30 µF of capacitance for every cm2 of electrode area. • The value of the double layer capacitance depends on many variables including electrode potential, temperature, ionic concentrations, types of ions, oxide layers, electrode roughness, impurity adsorption, etc. Principle of the Electric Double-Layer: Here C electrodes

48. Equivalent Circuit of a Cell: CPEConstant Phase Element (for double layer capacity in real electrochemical cells) • Capacitors in EIS experiments often do not behave ideally. Instead, they act like a constant phase element (CPE) as defined below. • When this equation describes a capacitor, the constant A = 1/C (the inverse of the capacitance) and the exponent  = 1. For a constant phase element, the exponent a is less than one. • The "double layer capacitor" on real cells often behaves like a CPE instead of like a capacitor. Several theories have been proposed to account for the non-ideal behavior of the double layer but none has been universally accepted (fractal explanation!). In most cases, you can safely treat  as an empirical constant and not worry about its physical basis.

49. Equivalent Circuit of a Cell: CPE • Constant Phase Element: • YCPE = Y0n{cos(n/2) + jsin(n/2)} • n = 1  Capacitance: C = Y0 • n = ½  Warburg:  = Y0 • n = 0  Resistance: R = 1/Y0 • n = -1  Inductance: L = 1/Y0 • All other values, ‘fractal?’ • ‘Non-ideal capacitance’, n < 1 (between 0.8 and 1?)

50. Equivalent Circuit of a Cell: CPE • General observations: • Semicircle (RC)  depressed • vertical spur (C )  inclined • Warburg  less than 45° Deviation from ‘ideal’ dispersion: Constant Phase Element (CPE), (symbol: Q ) n = 1, ½, 0, -1, ?