ElectrochemicalMeasurementModule: Automated RDE Electrochemical Analysis Platform

ElectrochemicalMeasurementModule is a hardware control framework for fully automated Rotating Disk Electrode (RDE) electrochemical analysis. This system integrates 11 hardware devices orchestrated over TCP/IP networking to automate electrode preparation, electrochemical evaluation, and post-processing workflows. Its effectiveness was validated through oxygen evolution reaction (OER) performance evaluation of Ir-based catalyst systems.

Key Features

• Fully automated RDE workflow covering electrode polishing, drying, humidification, electrochemical measurement, and imaging.
• 11 integrated hardware devices controlled via Serial, Modbus RTU/TCP, SCPI, EC-Lab DLL, and USB protocols.
• Virtual/Real operation modes for simulation and testing without physical hardware.
• Modular device architecture with unified error handling and structured logging.
• TCP/IP server node enabling remote command dispatch and multi-device coordination.
• Validated on Ir-based ternary catalyst systems for OER activity and stability evaluation.

🗂 Project Structure

ElectrochemicalMeasurementModule/
├── RDEModule_Class.py          # Core orchestration module
├── Module_Node.py              # TCP/IP server entry point (port 54009)
├── Device_Exception.py         # Custom exception handling
├── BaseUtils/                  # TCP communication & JSON utilities
│   ├── TCP_Node.py
│   ├── TCP_Node_batch.py
│   └── Preprocess.py
├── Log/                        # Centralized logging (NodeLogger)
│   └── Logging_Class.py
├── Potentiostat/               # Biologic VSP-3e potentiostat control
│   ├── Potentiostat_Class.py
│   ├── Potentiostat_Params.py
│   ├── kbio/                   # EC-Lab API Python wrappers
│   └── protocol/               # Electrochemical protocol JSON files
├── RDEactuator/                # 3-axis motion controller
├── RDErotator/                 # RDE rotation controller (RC-10K)
├── MFC/                        # Mass flow controller (WIZ-701)
├── Pump/                       # Syringe pump (Next3000FJ)
├── Powerbox/                   # Power distribution (solenoid / IR lamp / humidifier)
├── Sonic/                      # Ultrasonic bath (Sonorex Digitec)
├── Microscope/                 # USB camera & image analysis
├── Polishing/                  # Electrode polishing tool
├── RobotTransferUnit/          # Sample transfer robot
├── Figure/                     # Visualization assets
├── data/                       # Experimental data storage
└── requirements.txt

⚙️ Usage Instructions

1. Step 1 — Configure COM ports, IP addresses, and device parameters in RDEModule_Class.py.
2. Step 2 — Start the TCP/IP server node by running python Module_Node.py.
3. Step 3 — Send control commands from a client using the packet format: jobID/hardware_name/action_type/action_info/mode_type.
4. Step 4 — Inspect measurement outputs saved under the data/ directory.

All device methods support mode_type='virtual' for simulation without hardware. See in-code docstrings for parameter details and extension points.

🧪 Installation & Requirements

Python 3.8 is required. Install dependencies via conda:

conda env create -f requirements.txt
conda activate rde_env

Note: Biologic EC-Lab software must be installed separately to provide EClib64.dll for potentiostat communication.

Key packages include pymodbus, pyserial, pyvisa, opencv-python, numpy, and pandas.

📄 License & Contact

This repository is intended for academic and research use only. For questions, please contact:

Daeho Kim — Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) 📧 Email: r4576@kist.re.kr