Waters Rheo-Impedance Spectroscopy (Rheo-IS) accessory

Waters has released an accessory for its TA Instruments Discovery Hybrid Rheometers (HR) that enables simultaneous electrical impedance and rheological measurements — a critical capability for scientists working on new battery formulations. The Rheo-Impedance Spectroscopy (Rheo-IS) accessory employs a friction-free design, allowing access to the full range of rheological and electrical measurements.

Current rheology solutions rely on performance-limiting mechanical contacts to deliver impedance measurements, which compromise sensitivity and restrict accessible data and insights. The accessory avoids these limitations as it is designed to enable the Discovery HR’s full range of torque sensitivity for precision rheological measurements, coupled with impedance measurements up to 8 MHz frequency.

The accessory helps battery scientists to evaluate the conductive structure within electrode slurries using impedance spectroscopy measurements under real-world and process-relevant conditions. This includes characterising changes in particle distribution that mimic the effects of mixing, storage and coating processes; this can accelerate electrode material development and lead to more efficient battery production.

The accessory offers an easy-to-use experience, with installation completed in less than 5 min and complete integration of measurement controls and data analysis in TA Instruments TRIOS software. This addition expands the Discovery HR’s versatility for battery materials, offering rheological measurements of slurry flow behaviour, powder rheology to support dry electrode coatings and now simultaneous electrical impedance measurements of slurries, all readily available on a single platform. Its integrated workflow for automating complex rheological and electrical protocols makes measurements routine, resulting in high throughput and good data quality.