Two-channel impedance spectroscopy for the simultaneous measurement of two samples

We describe a dielectric relaxation technique, which allows one to obtain a very accurate comparison of the behavior of two different samples. The key feature is the simultaneous impedance measurement on two capacitors that can share a common center electrode, implying that the same voltage is applied to both samples and that only a single gain/phase analyzer is required. The capabilities of this technique have been examined by comparing the dynamics of protonated and deuterated 1-propanol samples using this dual-channel analyzer in the frequency range of 10(-2)-10(6) Hz and in the temperature range of 110-160 K, after calibrating the system using the same sample in both, channel 1 and channel 2. For many supercooled liquids, the high sensitivity of the dielectric relaxation behavior on temperature prevents a meaningful comparison of nearly identical dynamics on the basis of two separate measurements. Based on this dual-channel method, we observe that a deuterated 1-propanol sample displays small but systematic deviations from the relaxation spectra of its protonated counterpart, which would not be observable in separate dielectric measurements. Many other applications can be envisioned where simultaneous or differential impedance measurements are advantageous.