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Updated: Aug 20, 2025
Sample Preparation in Quartz Crystal Microbalance Measurements of Protein Adsorption and Polymer Mechanics
Published on: January 22, 2020
Design and validation of a low-cost open-source impedance based quartz crystal microbalance for electrochemical
Rens J Horst1,2, Antonis Katzourakis3, Bastian T Mei2
1Sustainable Polymer Chemistry Group, Department of Molecules & Materials, MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology, University of Twente, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands.
Abstract:
The quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) measurement technique is utilized in a broad variety of scientific fields and applications, where surface and interfacial processes are relevant. However, the costs of purchasing QCMs is typically high, which has limited its employment in education as well as by scientists in developing countries. In this article, we present an open-source QCM, built on the OpenQCM project, and using an impedance-based measurement technique (QCM-I), which can be built for <200 euro. Our QCM allows for simultaneous monitoring of the frequency change and dissipation, such that both soft and rigid materials can be characterized. In addition, our QCM measurements can be combined with simultaneous electrochemical measurement techniques (EQCM-I). We demonstrate the validity of our system by characterizing the electrodeposition of a rigid metallic film (Cu) and by the electropolymerization of aniline. Finally, we discuss potential improvements to our system.
