Transport property measurement of binary electrolytes using a four-electrode electrochemical cell

•An electrochemical technique is proposed for electrolyte characterization.•The method uses a four-electrode cell containing WE, CE and two potential sensors.•The method applies to concentrated binary electrolytes.•Only one galvanostatic polarization pulse is required in addition to concentration cell data.•Transport and thermodynamic properties measurements are expedited.

An electrochemical method that is more accurate and less complicated than state-of-the-art techniques is presented to estimate transport properties of concentrated binary electrolytes. The method involves the application of a single galvanostatic polarization pulse to working and counter electrodes in a four-electrode symmetric cell and measurement of both the closed-circuit and open-circuit potential responses across two electrode sensors. A mathematical model is then fitted to the experimental data to obtain the transport properties. This method provides a fast and reliable means to determine transport properties for a wide variety of electrolytes such as in high-power battery applications.