Hydrogen and oxygen plasma enhancement in the Cu electrodeposition and consolidation processes on BDD electrode applied to nitrate reduction

Copper nanoparticle electrodeposition and consolidation processes were studied on boron doped diamond (BDD) electrode submitted to hydrogen and oxygen plasma treatments. The modified BDD films were applied as electrodes for nitrate electroreduction. The results showed that both treatments have a strong influence on the copper deposition and dissolution processes. For BDD treated with hydrogen plasma the copper electrodeposit was homogeneous with high particle density. This behavior was attributed to the BDD surface hydrogenation that improved its conductivity. On the other hand, the treatment with oxygen plasma was important for the copper nanoparticle consolidation on BDD surface, confirmed by the result's reproducibility for nitrate reduction. This performance may be associated with the formation of oxygen groups that can act as anchor points for Cu-clusters, enhancing the interfacial adhesion between diamond and the metal coating. The best electrochemical nitrate reduction response was obtained in acid media, where occurred the separation of the nitrate reduction process and the water reduction reaction.     

Surface modification of titanium membrane by chemical vapor deposition and its electrochemical self-cleaning

Membrane separation is applied widely in many fields, while concentration polarization and membrane fouling, limiting its promotion and application greatly, are the bottlenecks in membrane application. Among which, membrane fouling is irreversible, membrane must be periodically cleaned or even replaced to restore permeability. Membrane cleaning has become one of the key issues in membrane separation areas. Considering incomparable electrochemical advantages of boron-doped diamond (BDD) film electrode over conventional electrode, a new composite membrane Ti/BDD, made by depositing CVD (chemical vapor deposition) boron-doped diamond film on titanium(Ti) membrane to modify porous titanium surface, that can be cleaned electrochemically is proposed. Feasibility of its preparation and application is discussed in this paper. Results shows that based on the unique electrochemical properties of diamond, cleaning level of this composite Ti/BDD membrane is significantly increased, making membrane life and efficiency improved prominently.     

Anodic oxidation of anthraquinone dye Alizarin Red S at Ti/BDD electrodes

The boron-doped diamond (BDD) thin-film electrode with high quality using industrially titanium plate (Ti/BDD) as substrate has been prepared and firstly used in the oxidation of anthraquinone dye Alizarin Red S (ARS) in wastewaters. The Ti/BDD electrodes are shown to have high concentration of sp³-bonded carbon and wide electrochemical window. The results of the cyclic voltammetries show that BDD has unique properties such as high anodic stability and the production of active intermediates at the high potential. The oxidation regions of ARS and water are significantly separated at the Ti/BDD electrode, and the peak current increases linearly with increasing ARS concentration. The bulk electrolysis shows that removal of chemical oxygen demand (COD) and color can be completely reached and the electrooxidation of ARS behaves as a mass-transfer-controlled process at the Ti/BDD electrode. It is demonstrated that the performances of the Ti/BDD electrode for anodic oxidation ARS have been significantly improved with respect to the traditional electrodes.     

Electrocatalytic oxidation of <Emphasis Type="SmallCaps">l</Emphasis>-tyrosine at carboxylic acid functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes modified carbon paste electrode

The electrocatalytic oxidation of l-tyrosine (Tyr) was investigated on a carboxylic acid functionalised multi-walled carbon nanotubes modified carbon paste electrode using cyclic voltammetry and amperometry. The surface morphology of the electrodes was studied using field emission (FE)-SEM images, and the interface properties of bare and modified electrodes were investigated by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The influence of the amount of modifier loading and the variation of the pH of the solution on the electrochemical parameters have been investigated. Cyclic voltammetry was carried out to study the electrochemical oxidation mechanism of Tyr, which showed an irreversible oxidation process at a potential of 637.0 mV at modified electrode. The anodic peak current linearly increased with the scan rate, suggesting that the oxidation of Tyr at modified electrode is an adsorption-controlled process. A good linear relationship between the oxidation peak current and the Tyr concentration in the range of 0.8–100.0 μM was obtained in a phosphate buffer solution at pH 7.0 with a detection limit of 14.0?±?1.36 nM (S/N?=?3). The practical utility of the sensor was demonstrated by determining Tyr in spiked cow’s milk and human blood serum. The modified electrode showed excellent reproducibility, long-term stability and antifouling effects.     

The effect of magnetic field on the electrodeposition of CoFe alloys

The superimposition of a homogenous magnetic field during an electrodeposition of CoFe alloy was investigated. A magnetic field superimposed parallel to the electrode surface increases the limiting current density and the deposition rate due to the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) effect. The deposits obtained in this field configuration appear smoother and more homogenous than the ones obtained without the magnetic field. On the contrary, a magnetic field superimposed perpendicular to the electrode surface does not influence significantly the electrochemical reaction but the morphology of the deposited layers is strongly affected. The roughness is strongly increased in this field configuration and grains grow as separated columns aligned perpendicular to the electrode surface, in the field direction. A magnetic field applied during the deposition affects the magnetic properties of the deposited layers as well. These changes are discussed with respect to the surface roughness and the internal stress state of the layer.     

Size-controlled growth of gold nanoparticle-doped carbon foams as sensitive electrochemical sensors for the determination of Pb(II)

A sensitive and selective electrochemical Pb²⁺ sensor consisting of a gold-carbon foam/chitosan/gold (Au-CFs/Chit/Au)-modified electrode was prepared. The electrode was synthesized via an oil-in-water emulsion polymerization and carbonization approach. Phenolic resins were used as a carbon source. HAuCl₄ was used as a gold source and as an acidic catalyst. Melamine was used as a coordination and coupling agent to control the size of the Au nanoparticles (AuNPs). The morphologies and microstructures of the Au-CFs were characterized using scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and transmission electron microscopy. The results revealed that the carbon foams contained interconnected macropores with diameters of nearly 5.0 μm and AuNPs with mean diameters of approximately 20.0, 9.0, and 7.0 nm. Brunauer–Emmett–Teller analysis revealed that the biggest surface area is 653.82 m²/g for Au/CFs-7. The electrochemical properties of modified electrodes and their responses to Pb²⁺ were characterized using cyclic voltammetry and differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry. The influence of the test conditions were studied to optimize operational parameters such as the choice of supporting electrolyte, pH, deposition potential, and deposition time. Under optimal conditions, typical Au/CFs-7-modified gold electrodes exhibited an excellent electrochemical response for Pb²⁺ with a wide linear response range from 0.01 to 1.2 μM, a correlation coefficient of 0.995, and a lower limit of detection of 0.63 nM with deposition time of 180 s (S/N?=?3).     

Electroless deposition of copper and fabrication of copper micropatterns on CVD diamond film surfaces

Electroless deposition of copper on as-grown and amino-modification diamond substrates was investigated. The compact and uniform copper films were successfully electrolessly deposited on as-grown and amino-modification diamond substrates after activation by Pd/Sn colloid nanoparticles. The adhesion interaction between copper films and diamond substrates was roughly estimated by the ultrasonic treatment. The results showed the higher adhesion interaction between copper films and amino-modification diamond substrates than that between the copper films and as-grown diamond substrates due to the greater attractive force between the Pd/Sn colloid nanoparticles and amino-modified diamond surface. The favorable copper micropatterns were successfully constructed on diamond film surfaces by means of the catalyst lift-off method and the copper lift-off method. Furthermore, the electrochemical behavior of copper-modified boron-doped diamond (BDD) was studied for glucose oxidation in 0.2 M sodium hydroxide solution by using cyclic voltammetry, and the result indicated that copper-modified BDD exhibited high catalytic activity to electrochemical oxidation of glucose in alkaline media.     

Differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetric determination of Hg2+ at poly(Eriochrome Black T)-modified carbon paste electrode

The electrochemical behavior of Hg²⁺ was investigated in poly(Eriochrome Black T)-modified carbon paste electrode (CPE) using cyclic voltammetry (CV). Poly(Eriochrome Black T) was prepared in an alkaline medium on the surface of the CPE using a solution of Eriochrome Black T with the CV technique. The electrochemical impedance study revealed a better charge transfer kinetics at the modified electrode. The effects of variation of the experimental conditions, such as the concentration of electrolytes, pH, deposition time, and the deposition potential, which maximize current efficiency were studied. The optimum response of Hg²⁺ was observed in 1.0 M KCl solution. The differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetric technique was employed successfully to detect Hg²⁺, which gave a good linear response at low concentration levels of Hg²⁺. The detection limit was found to be 2.2?×?10^?10 M (S/N?=?3), which is comparable with that achieved in multiwall carbon nanotube-modified electrode. The remarkable electroanalytical performance of the modified electrode makes it amenable to employ it successfully as an electrochemical sensor for the determination of hazardous pollutant Hg²⁺ in environmental samples.     

Boron-doped diamond synthesized by chemical vapor deposition as a heating element in a multi-anvil apparatus

ABSTRACT

We tested boron-doped diamond (BDD) synthesized by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) as a heating element in a multi-anvil apparatus. We succeeded in manufacturing BDD into a tubular shape by laser cutting and electric discharging machining. The BDD tube shaped by the electric discharging machining was contaminated by discharging electrode materials (Mo and W), which affected the heating performance. The laser-cut BDD tube has a clean surface and, therefore, had a good heating performance. We succeeded in generating temperature as high as 2670?K at a pressure around 30?GPa with laser-cut heater. Heating reproducibility was confirmed through repeated heating and cooling cycles. The recovered sample shows that a higher temperature generation above 2670?K was prevented by eutectic melting of ZrO₂ thermal insulator and Al₂O₃ sample. Owing to the commercial availability with a reasonable price, CVD–BDD heaters are more practical than a high-pressure synthesized BDD heaters for wide applications.     

Electrochemical behaviour of nickel-based electrodes for oxygen evolution reaction in alkaline water electrolysis

NiZnS electrode has been investigated for use in oxygen evolution reaction in alkaline media. Nickel mesh electrode was coated with the ternary composition of NiZnS by four methods, viz., direct current electrodeposition, pulse electrodeposition, sonoassisted direct current electrodeposition and sonoassisted pulse electrodeposition. The oxygen evolution studies carried out using these electrodes resulted in higher current density for the electrode prepared by sonoassisted pulse electrodeposition compared to those prepared by other methods. Effect of plating current density, pulse duty cycle and temperature on the electrochemical parameters of the alloy coating has been studied. Surface morphologies of the various coating were studied using scanning electron microscopy. Long-term stability of the electrodes prepared was studied in alkaline medium. Exchange current density (j _o) was found to increase with the increase in temperature and was the highest for sonoassisted pulse electrodeposited electrode.     

Cathodic and anodic pre-treated boron doped diamond with different sp content: Morphological,structural, and impedance spectroscopy characterizations

In this work, the influence of cathodic (Red) and anodic (Ox) pre-treatment on boron doped diamond (BDD) films grown with different sp²/sp³ ratios was systematically studied. The sp²/sp³ ratios were controlled by the addition of CH₄ of 1,3,5 and 7 sccm in the gas inlet during the growth process. The electrodes were treated in 0.5 mol L⁻¹ H₂SO₄ at −3 and 3 V vs Ag/AgCl, respectively, for 30 min. The electrochemical response of BDD films was investigated using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and Mott–Schottky Plot (MSP) measurements. Four film sample sets were produced in a hot filament chemical vapor deposition reactor. During the growth process, an additional H₂ line passing through a bubbler containing the B₂O₃ dissolved in methanol was used to carry the boron. The scanning electron microscopy morphology showed well faced films with a small decrease in their grain size as the CH₄ concentration increased. The Raman spectra depicted a pronounced sp² band, mainly for films with 5 and 7 sccm of CH₄. MSP showed a decrease in the acceptor concentration as the CH₄ increased indicating the CH₄ influence on the doping process for Red–BDD and Ox–BDD samples. Nonetheless, an apparent increase in the acceptor concentrations for both Ox–BDD samples was observed compared to that for Red–BDD samples, mainly attributed to the surface conductive layer (SCL) formation after this strong oxidation process. The EIS Nyquist plots for Red–BDD showed a capacitance increase for the films with higher sp² content (5 and 7 sccm). On the other hand, the Nyquist plots for Ox–BDD can be described as semicircles near the origin, at high frequencies, where their charge transfer resistance strongly varied with the sp² increase in such films.     

Structure Dependence of Fe‐Co Hydroxides on Fe/Co Ratio and Their Application for Supercapacitors

Fe‐Co hydroxides with different Fe/Co atomic ratios grown on nickel foams are synthesized by one‐step electrochemical deposition. The prepared samples are characterized by X‐ray diffraction, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. It was found that the influence of initial Fe/Co ratios in the precursor solutions on the structure and electrochemical performance of electrodeposited products is significant. Fe(OH)₃ shows particle shape with average diameter of 200 nm. With addition of Co ions, frame‐like structure consisting of smaller particles is formed for Fe‐Co hydroxides. Based on the morphology of Co(OH)₂, it is deduced that Co(OH)₂ serves as a network former constructing a tridimensional frame network structure. Fe‐Co hydroxide with Fe/Co ratio of 1:1 exhibits two types of structure features: nanoflake‐like network structure overall and nanoparticle structure with numerous mesoporous microscopically. As the supercapacitor electrode materials, the as‐prepared Fe‐Co hydroxide electrode with Fe/Co ratio of 1:1 exhibits highest specific capacitance of 2255.6 F g^?1 at the current density of 1 A g^?1 and also shows good cycling performance of 73.5% capacity retention at current density of 10 A g^?1 after 2000 cycles. This work provides a facile method to produce promising Fe‐Co hydroxide electrode materials with high performance for supercapacitors.     

Characterization and sensing property studies of the Pt | Nafion electrode prepared by the chemical reduction method

A novel electrochemical hydrogen sensor which consists of a solid electrolyte polymer (SEP) and catalytic active electrode operating at room temperature was fabricated and investigated. Nafion is utilized as polymer proton conducting membrane onto which a catalytic electrode was deposited by anin-situ impregnation reduction (I-R) technique. In this work, Pt was selected as active catalyst for hydrogen oxidation and the deposition conditions were modified to optimise the parameters for application in hydrogen sensors and to improve the metal utilization so that the electrode loading could be reduced without loss of electrochemical performance. The hydrogen sensing characteristics with air as reference gas are reported. A maximum sensitivity of about 0.01 μA cm⁻² ppm⁻¹ was obtained. The response time was observed to be in the range of 10–50 seconds. The experimental results show that long term sensor stability exists at room temperature. The thin Pt films were characterized by XRD, infrared spectroscopy, optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and EDAX. Paper presented at the Patras Conference on Solid State Ionics — Transport Properties, Patras, Greece, Sept. 14–18, 2004.     

New voltammetric strategy for simultaneous determination of norepinephrine, acetaminophen, and folic acid using a 5-amino-3′,4′-dimethoxy-biphenyl-2-ol/carbon nanotube paste electrode

A carbon paste electrode modified with 5-amino-3??,4??-dimethoxy-biphenyl-2-ol and carbon nanotubes was used for the sensitive voltammetric determination of norepinephrine (NE). The electrochemical response characteristics of the modified electrode toward NE, acetaminophen (AC), and folic acid (FA) were investigated by cyclic and square wave voltammetry (SWV). The results show an efficient catalytic activity of the electrode for the electrooxidation of NE, which leads to lowering its overpotential more than 160?mV. The modified electrode exhibits an efficient electron-mediating behavior together with well-separated oxidation peaks for NE, AC, and FA. Under the optimum pH of 7.0 in 0.1?M phosphate buffer solution, the SWV anodic peak current showed a linear relation vs. NE concentration in the range of 15.0 to 1,000.0???M with a detection limit of 8.0???M.     

Electrocatalytic properties of glassy carbon electrodes modified with hydroxy derivatives of 9,10-anthraquinone for oxygen reduction reaction

The electrochemical and electrocatalytic behavior of glassy carbon electrodes modified by one mono and four dihydroxy derivatives of anthra-9,10-quinone compounds have been investigated by cyclic voltammetric technique. The stability of the modified electrodes was ascertained in acidic and neutral media. The surface morphology of modified electrode was characterized by scanning electron microscope. The influence of pH on the electrochemical and electrocatalytic behavior was studied and pH?6.0 or 7.0 was chosen as the optimum working pH by comparing the shift in oxygen reduction potential. The anthraquinone-adsorbed glassy carbon electrodes possess excellent electrocatalytic ability for oxygen reduction with overpotential ranging from 388 to 547?mV lower than that at a plain glassy carbon electrode. Hydrodynamic volatammetric studies were performed to determine the heterogeneous rate constants for the reduction of O₂ at the surface of the modified electrodes, mass specific activity of the anthraquinones used, and the apparent diffusion coefficient of O₂ in buffered aqueous O₂-saturated solutions.     

Electrode reaction and microstructure of La0.6Sr0.4CoO3−δ thin films

Dense La_0.6Sr_0.4CoO_3−δ film electrodes were deposited by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) on Ce_0.9Gd_0.1O_1.95 electrolytes. The grain size of one film was 300–500 nm, and the other was 30–50 nm. DC polarization and AC impedance measurements were performed at 873 K–1073 K in O₂–Ar gas mixtures. From investigations of the electrochemical capacitances, the rate determining process for both electrodes were confirmed to be the surface reaction. The analyses in the electrochemical resistance revealed that the oxygen adsorption/desorption rate was faster on the electrode with smaller grain size. DC responses agreed with AC results, so the current density on the nano-grain electrode was larger by half an order than those of the sub-micron-grain electrode. Under a dilute oxygen atmosphere, the rate determining step transferred from a surface reaction to a gas phase diffusion.     

碱性介质中葡萄糖在铂电极上的阳极氧化

为了进一步探明葡萄糖在铂电极上的氧化机理 ,用循环伏安法 (CV)在 - 0 .9～ 0 .4V(相对于饱和甘汞参比电极 )内研究了葡萄糖在铂电极上催化氧化行为 ,首次详细报道了葡萄糖在电化学氧化过程中的电位振荡现象 ,并用电流扫描法表征了葡萄糖的电位振荡情况 .电流扫描结果表明 ,在较慢的电流扫描速度下 ,电极过程出现了明显的电位振荡 .说明电极上产生了毒化中间物 ,电位振荡是由于毒化中间物在电极上的吸附和在高电位下氧化除去引起的 .     

Highly amorphous PbO2 as an electrode in hybrid electrochemical capacitors

This paper presents a synthesis and characterizes highly amorphous lead dioxide and its use in hybrid electrochemical capacitor C/PbO₂. Highly amorphous lead dioxide with a small amount of β-PbO₂ was synthesized by galvanostatic deposition from acetate solution. The hybrid supercapacitor was constructed with PbO₂ as the positive electrode whereas activated carbon as the negative electrode. The morphology of materials was examined by scanning electron microscopy and their structure was characterized by means of an X-ray diffraction technique. The electrochemical performance of hybrid electrochemical capacitor with synthesized PbO₂ was studied by cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic charge/discharge and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. To indicate that the amorphous form of lead dioxide was predominant, results were compared to highly crystalline β-PbO₂. The hybrid electrochemical capacitor with synthesized material exhibits a much greater specific capacitance, higher specific energy and power than the highly crystalline one. The specific capacitance values obtained for the supercapacitor rose more than twice in favour of amorphous PbO₂. Also, long cycling did not influence any of the electrochemical properties of this hybrid electrochemical capacitor, which makes it an interesting energy storage device.     

Electrocatalytic determination of sulfite using a modified carbon nanotubes paste electrode: application for determination of sulfite in real samples

This paper introduces a carbon paste electrode modified with ferrocene and carbon nanotubes as a voltammetric sensor for determination of sulfite at pH 7.0. The results showed that under the optimum condition (pH 7.0) in cyclic voltammetry, the oxidation of sulfite occurred at a potential about 280?mV less positive than the unmodified carbon paste electrode. Kinetic parameters such as electron transfer coefficient (??) and heterogeneous rate constant (k) for sulfite were also determined using electrochemical approaches. Under the optimized conditions, the electrocatalytic oxidation peak current of sulfite showed two linear dynamic ranges with a detection limit of 0.1???M for sulfite. The proposed method was examined as a selective, simple, and precise method for voltammetric determination of sulfite in some real samples such as weak liquor from wood and paper industry, boiler water, river water, industrial water, and tap water.     

Lithium insertion studies on boron-doped diamond as a possible anode material for lithium batteries

Boron-doped diamond (BDD) was prepared by the hot filament chemical vapor deposition method. The prepared samples were subjected to X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and Raman spectroscopy studies. The BDD composite electrode/Li cell has been assembled, and its cycling behavior was studied. The BDD possesses large sp² sites, which effectively participate in the lithium storage process. Furthermore, nanocrystalline tin (Sn) particles were prepared by the chemical reduction method. The addition of nanotin with the BDD-active material greatly enhances the cyclability of the cell. An erratum to this article can be found at