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Figure 1 The Export ASCII data command is located in the Data handling group of
commands
To illustrate the use of the Export ASCII data, the Autolab Cyclic voltammetry
potentiostatic procedure will be used. Several situations will be explored in this
technical note, all of which can be performed on dummy cell (a).
Load the Autolab Cyclic voltammetry potentiostatic procedure into the procedure
editor to get started. To use the Export ASCII data command, drag and drop it at
the end of the procedure (see Figure 2).
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Note
The
symbol is shown next to the Export ASCII data command because the
filename parameter is not yet linked.
The Export ASCII data command has the following command parameters:
Note: the folder in which the file will be created must exist on the disk.
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Figure 4 Defining the location of the output file (C:\Exported data\Example 1.txt)
With the three columns linked to three signals provided by the CV staircase
command and the output file defined, it is possible to add a remark before
starting the measurement.
Click the
button next to the Remarks parameter to open the Remarks editor
window and add a useful comment (see Figure 5).
Connect dummy cell (a) and press the start button to begin the measurement. The
typical cyclic voltammetry for the dummy cell will be plotted in the measurement
view. After the measurement is finished, the data will be available in the database,
as usual, but an additional .txt file will be available in the C:\Exported data folder.
This text file can be opened with Notepad (see Figure 6).
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Figure 6 The data points recorded during the cyclic voltammetry measurement
Press the Start button again. Before the measurement starts, a warning will be
displayed. Since the File mode parameter is set to overwrite, the software can use
the same output file again, unless the user presses the Close button during the
procedure checking (see Figure 7).
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Set the number of columns to two and link them to the Result X and Smoothed
result Y provided by the SG Smooth command. The other parameters will be kept
identical to the previous Export ASCII data command.
Note
To avoid confusion with the previous files, the output files have been set to
C:\Exported data\Example 2 data.txt and C:\Exported data\Example 2
smoothed.txt, respectively.
Connect dummy cell (a) and start the measurement. The typical CV staircase
profile will be displayed in the measurement view. At the end of the
measurement, two files will be added to the Exported data folder (see Figure 10).
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Figure 10 Two new files are added to the Exported data folder after the measurement
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Locate the Repeat n times command in the Control group. Drag and drop this
command at the very end of the procedure editor (see Figure 12).
Using the Drag and drop method, select all the measurement commands at the
top of the procedure editor and move it into the Repeat n times. Repeat the same
for the Export ASCII data command. All the command should now be located
inside the repeat loop as shown in Figure 13.
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Connect dummy cell (a) and press the start button. The potentiostatic cyclic
voltammetry measurement will be performed ten times in a row. At the end of
each cyclic voltammogram, a .txt file will be added the to the Exported data folder
(see Figure 14). The files are created while the measurement is running and
writing the data to file does not interfere with the timing of the experiment.
Note
Figure 14 shows the contents of the Exported data folder after three
repetitions. The first file is called Example 3 data.txt, the consequent files are
called Example 3 data(n).txt, where n is a counter that starts at 1,
automatically.
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Figure 14 The exported data files are created while the measurement is running
At the end of the measurement, a total of 10 unique Example 3(n).txt files should
be available in the Exported data folder.
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Change the name of the output file to Example 4 data.txt. Connect the dummy
cell (a) and press the start button. At the end of each cyclic voltammogram, the
recorded data points will be added to the specified ASCII file. At the end of the
measurement, this file will contain all the recorded data points.
3 Conclusion
Using the Export ASCII data command provides an additional safety for users
performing very long experiments. Even if the power fails or if the computer
crashes, the measured data points will still be available in a .txt file.
Note
Storage of data points into an ASCII file is performed whenever the software
encounters the Export ASCII data command.
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