Copper Sulphate Reference Electrode

Copper Sulphate reference electrodes are a good alternative when Calomel or Ag/AgCl are not suitable. They are commonly used for Cathodic protection applications including Cathodic Disbondment testing.

The E8202 is a single junction reference electrode with a ceramic junction. Reference electrodes provide a stable half cell potential and can be used with any sensing electrode including pH, REDOX and Ion selective electrodes. Copper Sulphate electrodes will slowly leach electrolyte (Copper II Sulphate)  into the sample and provide a conductive path via the porous white ceramic junction. If the sample or analysis is affected by contamination with Copper or Sulphate ions then it is advisable to use a Double Junction, Calomel or Ag/AgCl reference.

The E8202 reference electrode is refillable and is supplied with a soaker bottle for long term storage.  The reference electrode has a dynamic equilibrium between a Copper rod and saturated Copper II Sulphate solution which must be saturated. It is therefore normal for the filling solution to contain some blue Copper Sulphate crystals.

The Copper Sulphate reference electrode typically has an offset potential of around 300mV when compared to a Calomel Reference electrode. This should be taken into account if you are comparing the mV data generated using different reference systems