EmStat4 MUX
2-in-1: Potentiostat with integrated multiplexer
- Integrated 8-channel multiplexer
- Supports 2-, 3- and 4-electrode setup using Sense Lead
- Potential range: ± 3V
- Compliance voltage: ± 5V
- Current ranges: 1 nA – 10 mA
- Maximum current: ± 30 mA
- FRA / EIS up to 200 kHz


Gone are the days with too many cables. With the EmStat4 MUX you have a potentiostat and a multiplexer in one! The EmStat4 MUX is a powerful potentiostat, galvanostat and impedance analyzer and supports all popular electrochemical techniques. Its 8 channels allow for sequential measurements, for example eight Screen-printed electrodes, or eight working electrodes in eight different cells. The instrument’s measurements can be highly customized using MethodSCRIPT. The 4 different cell connections available allow for many different setups. When the measurements are finished, you can easily save your results in PSTrace, or export your results to Excel.
Two modes of operation
- Consecutive mode: this mode switches channel when a complete measurement has finished
- Alternate mode: this mode switches all activated channels within the specified time interval of a measurement.
In both modes the unselected Working Electrodes can either be left floating or switched to Ground to keep the specified voltage.
Supports a 2-, 3- or 4-electrode setup
- Connect four electrodes per channel by using the Sense Leads.
- Or connect only three electrodes per channel by internally connecting all Sense electrodes to the Working Electodes in software.
- Do you need to connect only two electrodes per channel? Combine the reference and counter electrode physically on the cable, or with a single click on the PSTrace software.

8 to 128 channels
Is 8 channels not enough? If more channels are required, one or more MUX-R2 can be stacked to the EmStat4 MUX for a total of up to 128 channels.
Script your experiments!
Via the script window of PSTrace it is possible to perform a different experiment on each of the channels sequentially. Alternatively, you can use MethodSCRIPT to fully customize your measurements per channel.
Multichannel or Multiplexer?
To make it easier for you to decide, if a multiplexer or a multichannel device is more suitable for your application, we have created a short explanation of multiplexers and multichannels.
Specifications
General | |
---|---|
channels | 8x [Working, Sense, Counter, Reference electrode and Ground ] |
potential range | ±3 V |
compliance voltage
The compliance voltage is the maximum voltage that can be applied between the working and counter electrode. Another name could be the maximum cell potential. Continue reading
|
±5 V |
current ranges
A potentiostat measures current. For optimal precision, the range between which currents are measured is split into multiple current ranges. A current range defines the maximum current a potentiostat can measure in a certain range. This means it will also determine the resolution, because the number of bits or rather states is fixed, while the current range is variable.
|
1 nA to 10 mA (8 ranges) |
maximum current | ±30 mA |
max. data acquisition rate | 1M samples /s |
FRA / EIS | 10 µHz to 100 kHz when switching WE, RE and CE 10 µHz to 200 kHz when switching WE and RE+CE combined (2-electrode configuration) |
electrodes | WE, S, RE, CE and ground |
Potentiostat | |
---|---|
applied potential resolution | 100 µV |
applied potential accuracy
The applied potential accuracy describes how close to the real values your applied potential is.
|
≤ 0.2% ±1 mV offset |
current ranges
A potentiostat measures current. For optimal precision, the range between which currents are measured is split into multiple current ranges. A current range defines the maximum current a potentiostat can measure in a certain range. This means it will also determine the resolution, because the number of bits or rather states is fixed, while the current range is variable.
|
1 nA to 10 mA 8 ranges |
measured current resolution
The lowest observable difference between two values that a measurement device can differentiate between.
|
0.009% of CR (92 fA on 1 nA range) |
measured current accuracy
The current accuracy describes how close to the real values your measured current is.
|
< 0.2% of current ±20 pA ±0.2% of range |
bandwidth settings |
320 Hz, 3.2 kHz, 30 kHz or 570 kHz |
Galvanostat | |
---|---|
current ranges
A potentiostat measures current. For optimal precision, the range between which currents are measured is split into multiple current ranges. A current range defines the maximum current a potentiostat can measure in a certain range. This means it will also determine the resolution, because the number of bits or rather states is fixed, while the current range is variable.
|
10 nA, 1 uA, 100 uA, 10 mA 4 ranges |
applied dc-current | ±3 * CR (current range) |
applied dc-current resolution | 0.01% of CR |
applied dc- current accuracy
The current accuracy describes how close to the real values your measured current is.
|
<0.4% of current ±20 pA ±0.2% of range |
potential ranges |
50 mV, 100 mV, 200 mV, 500 mV, 1 V |
measured dc-potential resolution |
96 µV at ±3 V (1 V range) |
measured dc-potential accuracy | ≤ 0.2% ±1 mV offset |
bandwidth settings | 320 Hz, 3.2 kHz, 30 kHz or 570 kHz |
FRA / EIS | |
---|---|
frequency range | 10 µHz to 100 kHz when switching WE/S, RE and CE 10 µHz to 200 kHz when switching WE/S and RE+CE combined (2 electrodes configuration) |
ac-amplitude range |
1 mV to 900 mV rms, or 2.5 V p-p |
GEIS | |
---|---|
frequency range | 10 µHz to 100 kHz |
ac-amplitude range |
0.9 * CR (Arms) |
Electrometer | |
---|---|
electrometer amplifier input
The amplifier input resistance of the amplifier in the electrometer determines the load that the amplifier places on the source of the signal being fed into it. Ideally the resistance is infinite, and the load to be zero to not to influence your measurement.
|
> 1 TΩ // 10 pF |
bandwidth |
10 kHz default or 500 kHz for EIS and fast CA/CP |
Integrated Multiplexer | |
---|---|
number of channels | 8 (up to 128 when adding MUX8-R2 multiplexers) |
multiplexer | switches 8 x (WE, S, RE and CE) |
on resistance for WE | 1.5 Ω typical |
charge injection on WE | 20 pC typical |
leakage current | < 20 pA (5 pA typical) at 25 ºC |
switching time | 2 ms |
switching time when alternating | 25 ms (min. 0.5 s interval time when alternating over 8 channels) |
Other | |
---|---|
housing | aluminium: 138 mm x 121 mm x 37 mm |
weight | +/- 500 g |
temperature range | 0 ºC to + 50 ºC |
power supply | USB |
communication | USB-C |
internal storage space | 500 MB, equivalent to >15M datapoints or ~1000 measurement files (whichever comes first) |
The EmStat4 MUX has the following connections | |
---|---|
Connector | Function |
Input | – |
AUX | Can be used to measure auxiliary input like temperature or pH, and to switch external hardware using two digital control lines that can be set in PSTrace |
Link | Connects to Input of next multiplexer, for daisy-chaining multiple multiplexers. |
USB-C | For connecting to PC or Android device |
Channel 1-4 | Connects to sensor cables 1-4 |
Channel 5-8 | Connects to sensor cables 5-8 |
Cell connections
There are four ways to connect your sensor. These sensor connections are quoted separately.
- Option A: Double shielded sensor cables with 2 mm banana connectors. The 2 mm banana connectors are compatible with standard croc clips (they will be included in the quotation as optional).
- Option B: High-density cable that terminates in ferrules
- Option C: Connection (Screw) Terminal to assemble your own wires.
- Option D: Screen Printed Electrode Connector
Each of these connection options can be used to connect 4 channels. When you add the EmStatMUX8 in the quotation basket we will make sure to include two units of the selected connection option so you can connect all 8 channels to the electrochemical cells.
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Software
PSTrace
PSTrace is designed to be productive immediately after installation, without going through a long learning period. It has three modes; the Scientific mode which allows you to run all the techniques our instruments have to offer, and two dedicated modes for Corrosion analysis and the Analytical Mode. PSTrace is suitable for all levels of user experience.
Features include:
- Direct validation of method parameters
- Automated peak search
- Equivalent Circuit Fitting
- Scripting for running an automated sequence of measurements
- Open data in Origin and Excel with one click of a button
- Load data from the instrument’s internal storage
- and many more…
Software Development Kits
PalmSens provides several Software Development Kits (SDKs) to help developers create custom software to control their potentiostat. Each SDK comes with documentation and examples that shows how to use the libraries.
SDKs are available for:
- .NET (WinForms, WPF and Xamarin for Android)
- Python
- LabVIEW
- Matlab
MethodSCRIPT™ Communications Protocol
The EmStat4-series instruments work with MethodSCRIPT™, giving you full control over your potentiostat. The simple script language is parsed on-board, which means no DLLs or other type of code libraries are required. MethodSCRIPT™ allows for running all supported electrochemical techniques, making it easy to combine different measurements and other tasks.
MethodSCRIPT can be generated, edited, and executed in PSTrace.
MethodSCRIPT features includes:
- (Nested) loops and conditional logic support
- User code during a measurement iteration
- Exact timing control
- Simple math operations on variables (add, sub, mul, div)
- Data smoothing and peak detection
- Digital I/O, for example for waiting for an external trigger
- Logging results to internal storage or external SD card
- Reading auxiliary values like pH or temperature
- and many more…
Downloads
Name | Type | Last updated | |
---|---|---|---|
EmStat4 MUX Operators Manual This manual explains how to install, operate and trouble shoot the EmStat4 MUX instrument. | Documentation | 30-05-25 | |
EmStat4 MUX Brochure Brochure of the EmStat4 potentiostat, with integrated 8-channel multiplexer. Read more about the cell configurations, cell connection options, supported techniques and how to connect up to 128 channels. | Documentation | 30-05-25 |