Polishing Kit for Electrode Tips

This polishing kit restores the working surface of electrode tips before electrochemical measurements. Polishing removes deposits and scratches, makes the surface uniform, improves sensitivity and reduces interference and edge effects, so voltammetry and rotating disk electrode (RDE) results stay reliable and reproducible from one experiment to the next.

The kit follows a four-step wet polishing sequence, from abrasive paper to a mirror finish. Each step uses its own adhesive polishing disc placed on the steel polishing holder and wetted with water, and the last three steps add a few drops of alumina suspension with decreasing particle size. The tip is moved in figure-eight patterns in both directions, for about 1 to 3 minutes in the first step and about 1 minute in each of the following ones.

• Step 1, P1200 disc with water: removes deposits and brings the tip back to bare material.
• Step 2, P2500 disc with 2-3 µm alumina: removes the scratches left by the first step.
• Step 3, satin disc with 1 µm alumina: removes the remaining light scratches.
• Step 4, felt disc with 0.3 µm alumina: leaves a mirror-polished tip surface.

The kit is designed for interchangeable electrode tips with a PEEK body, an 11 mm outer diameter and a length of 20 mm. These tips fit the OrigaTrod rotating disk electrode and the StaTrod static electrode, and are available in materials such as glassy carbon, platinum, gold, silver, nickel and 316L stainless steel, with active diameters of 1, 2, 3 or 5 mm. Only water needs to be added to use the kit, and the polishing discs and alumina suspensions are available as consumables for reordering.