Ardo Research Group -- UC Irvine

CHEM 248 – ELECTROCHEMISTRY, Fall 2026
(last updated Tuesday, October 20, 2026 @ 10:55 pm PT)

COURSE INFORMATION
Updated Syllabus (old) [POSTED on 9/23; UPDATED ON 10/16]
B&F Textbook Errata

INSTRUCTOR
Professor Shane Ardo
Office Hours: Mondays @ 8 – 9 am, and 5:30 – 6:30 pm (use Zoom link) [UPDATED SECOND TIMESLOT]

MEETING DATES AND TIMES

  Lecture: Tuesdays & Thursdays @ 8 – 9:20 am (RH 192)
  "Discussion" Lab: Mondays @ 1 – 2:50 pm or 3 – 4:50 pm (RH 453)

NOTABLE DUE DATES AND TIMES (10% of lowest score will be dropped, leaving 90% for course grade determination)

  Examinations (50% of course grade) [UPDATED GRADE CONTRIBUTION]

Th10/22 @ 2 pm – Th10/29 @ 8 am: Asynchronous Non-Proctored Midterm Exam (24 hours to complete; 20% of course grade)
[Special Additional Office Hours on Th10/22 @ 7 – 8 am]
F12/4 @ 2 pm – F12/11 @ 2 pm: Asynchronous Non-Proctored Final Exam (24 hours to complete; 30% of course grade) [UPDATED GRADE CONTRIBUTION]
[Special Additional Office Hours on Th12/3 @ 9:30 – 10:30 am, 2:00 – 3:00 pm, and F12/4 @ 9 – 10 am]

Assignments (50% of course grade)

W10/14 @ noon: Assignment 1 (Lab 1) (10% of course grade) [SECOND EXTENDED DUE DATE]
M11/2 @ noon: Assignment 2 (Labs 2 & 3) (10% of course grade) [SECOND EXTENDED DUE DATE]
M11/16 @ noon: Assignment 3 (Labs 4 & 5) (10% of course grade) [DUE DATE PUSHED BACK BY TWO WEEKS]
M11/30 @ noon: Assignment 4 (Labs 6 & 7) (10% of course grade) [DUE DATE PUSHED BACK BY TWO WEEKS]
Th12/10 @ noon: Assignment 5 (Lab 8) (10% of course grade) [DUE DATE PUSHED BACK BY TWO WEEKS]

Synchronous Presentation (0% of course grade) [UPDATED GRADE CONTRIBUTION]

REVIEW INFORMATION
Exam A Review Sheet [POSTED on 10/19]

COURSE SCHEDULE AND ASSIGNMENTS

WEEK 0

Th9/24: Lecture Notes 01 – Course Overview (3 slides per page, Video-Recorded Lecture 01 (see Canvas course website, or email Shane to request access to all video-recorded lectures)) [POSTED on 9/23]
- Syllabus [POSTED on 9/23]
- B&F Textbook Errata

WEEK 1

M9/28: Lab 1 – POTENTIOSTAT SOFTWARE SETUP, SIMULATIONS, AND ANALYSES and Guide (Assignment 1 due Wednesday, October 14, 2026 by noon [SECOND EXTENDED DUE DATE]), plus additional ungraded Practice Problems [POSTED on 9/27; UPDATED on 10/9]
T9/29: Lecture Notes 02 – Redox Reactions (3 slides per page, Video-Recorded Lecture 02 (see Canvas course website, or email Shane to request access to all video-recorded lectures)) [POSTED ON 9/30]
Th10/1: Lecture Notes 03 – Thermodynamics (3 slides per page, Video-Recorded Lecture 03 (see Canvas course website, or email Shane to request access to all video-recorded lectures)) [POSTED ON 10/7]

WEEK 2

M10/5: Lab 2 – FABRICATING ELECTRODES AND USING A POTENTIOSTAT TO PERFORM CYCLIC VOLTAMMETRY [POSTED ON 10/4; UPDATED on 10/9], with Potentiostat Data Files (text files, EC-Lab files) and Video-Recorded Lab 2 (see Canvas course website, or email Shane to request access to all video-recorded e-labs) (Assignment 2 due Monday, November 2, 2026 by noon [SECOND EXTENDED DUE DATE])
T10/6: Lecture Notes 04 – Half-Reactions (3 slides per page, Video-Recorded Lecture 04 (see Canvas course website, or email Shane to request access to all video-recorded lectures)) [POSTED ON 10/7]
- Outmoded Terminology: NHE – Ramette, Journal of Chemical Education, 1987, 64, 885
- Electrochemical Series – Vanysek, CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 92^nd Edition, 2011
- Solvated Electrons (from photoexcited diamond) – Zhu, ..., Hamers, Nature Materials, 2013, 12, 836
- Solvated Electrons – Cady, Journal of Physical Chemistry, 1897, 1, 707
- Absolute Electrode Potential – Trasatti, Pure & Applied Chemistry, 1986, 58, 955
Th10/8: Lecture Notes 05 – Diagrams (3 slides per page, Video-Recorded Lecture 05 (see Canvas course website, or email Shane to request access to all video-recorded lectures)) [POSTED ON 10/16]
- Pourbaix Diagrams – Pourbaix, Atlas of Electrochemical Equilibria, 1966
- Potentials in Electrochemistry – Boettcher, et al., ACS Energy Letters, 2021, 6, 261

WEEK 3

M10/12: Lab 3 – ELECTRODEPOSITION OF MATERIALS USING POURBAIX DIAGRAMS AND EVALUATING CHARGE STORAGE [POSTED ON 10/9], with Mass Values and Potentiostat Data Files (text files, EC-Lab files) and Video-Recorded Lab 3 (see Canvas course website, or email Shane to request access to all video-recorded e-labs) (Assignment 2 due Monday, November 2, 2026 by noon [SECOND EXTENDED DUE DATE])
T10/13: Lecture Notes 06 – Potentiostats (3 slides per page, Video-Recorded Lecture 06 (see Canvas course website, or email Shane to request access to all video-recorded lectures)) [POSTED ON 10/16]
- Influence of Light on Ag/AgCl – Moody, Oke, and Thomas, Analyst, 1969, 94, 803
- Three-Electrode Potentiostat – Hickling, Transactions of the Faraday Society, 1942, 38, 27
- Instability of Traditional Potentiostats – Davis and Toren, Analytical Chemistry, 1974, 46, 647
- DIY Three-Electrode Potentiostat – Mott, ..., Sykes, Journal of Chemical Education, 2014, 91, 1028
Th10/15: Lecture Notes 07 – Electrode Charging (3 slides per page, Video-Recorded Lecture 07 (see Canvas course website, or email Shane to request access to all video-recorded lectures)) [POSTED ON 10/16]

WEEK 4

M10/19: Finish Lab 2 and Lab 3
T10/20: Lecture Notes 08 – Electrode Considerations (3 slides per page, Video-Recorded Lecture 08 (see Canvas course website, or email Shane to request access to all video-recorded lectures)) [COMING SOON]
- Electrochemically Active Surface Area – Trasatti and Petrii, Pure & Applied Chemistry, 1991, 63, 711
- Placement of Reference Electrodes – Myland and Oldham, Analytical Chemistry, 2000, 72, 3972
T10/20 (virtual): Lecture Notes 09 – Redox Equilibration (3 slides per page, Video-Recorded Lecture 09 (see Canvas course website, or email Shane to request access to all video-recorded lectures)) [COMING SOON]

CHEM 248 – ELECTROCHEMISTRY, Fall 2026 (last updated Tuesday, October 20, 2026 @ 10:55 pm PT)

CHEM 248 – ELECTROCHEMISTRY, Fall 2026
(last updated Tuesday, October 20, 2026 @ 10:55 pm PT)