Carbon Composite Electrodes for Liquid Chromatography/Electrochemistry: Optimizing Detector Performance by Tailoring the Electrode Composition

Abstract

Results obtained in this laboratory and elsewhere suggest that carbon composite electrodes may possess a signal-to-noise (S/N) advantage compared to continuous electrodes such as glassy carbon when used for detection of analytes in flowing streams. One succomposite electrode which appears partic- ularly attractive in this regard is the Kel-F-graphite (Kelgraf) electrode, compression molded from Kel-F and powdered graphite and containing 5 to 30% graphite by weight. Studies of the electrode surface by scanning electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy in conjunction with electrochemical investigations employing chronoamperometry, cyclic voltammetry, and capacitance measurements have led us to view the electrode surface as an ensemble of rnicroelectrodes, the dimensions of which can be varied by changes in particle size and/or ratio of Kel-F to graphite in the composite. The S/N advantage of the composite electrode apparently arises from a signal (current) enhanced by radial diffusion of analyte to the individual microelectrodes, resulting in a response greater than that obtained from a continuous electrode of equal active area. Since detector noise is generally assumed proportional to the active area of the electrode, S/N enhancement results.

For composite electrodes employed in a thin-layer channel design LC detector, the observed variations in the S/N ratio with changes in (1) composite composition (%C), (2) particle size of Kel-F used in fabrication of the composite, and (3) area of composite exposed in the flow channel are discussed within the context of the microelectrode ensemble model. It is further demonstrated that the ability of the electrode to resist fouling can be modified by variation in composite composition.     

Monitoring of Saccharomyces cerevisiae cell proliferation on thiol-modified planar gold microelectrodes using impedance spectroscopy

An impedance spectroscopic study of the interaction between thiol-modified Au electrodes and Saccharomyces cerevisiae of strain EBY44 revealed that the cells formed an integral part of the interface, modulating the capacitive properties until a complete monolayer was obtained, whereas the charge transfer resistance ( R ct) to the redox process of [Fe(CN)6] 3-/4- showed a linear relationship to the number of cells even beyond the monolayer coverage. R ct showed strong pH dependence upon increasing the pH of the utilized buffer to 7.2. Upon addition of S. cerevisiae cells at pH 7.2, the obtained value of R ct showed over 560% increase with respect to the value obtained on the same thiol-modified electrode without cells. It was demonstrated that real-time monitoring of S. cerevisiae proliferation, with frequency-normalized imaginary admittance (real capacitance) as the indicator, was possible using a miniaturized culture system, ECIS Cultureware, with integrated planar cysteamine-modified Au microelectrodes. A monolayer coverage was reached after 20-28 h of cultivation, observed as an approximately 15% decrease in the real capacitance of the system.     

Electrochemical oxidation behavior of guanosine-5��-monophosphate on a glassy carbon electrode modified with a composite film of graphene and multi-walled carbon nanotubes, and its amperometric determination

The electrochemical oxidation of guanosine-5??-monophosphate (GMP) was studied with a glassy carbon electrode modified with a composite made from graphene and multi-walled carbon nanotubes. GMP undergoes an irreversible oxidation process at an oxidation peak potential of 987?mV in phosphate buffer solution. Compared to other electrodes, the oxidation peak current of GMP with this electrode was significantly increased, and the corresponding oxidation peak potential negatively shifted, thereby indicating that the modified material exhibited electrochemical catalytic activity towards GMP. Chronocoulometry demonstrates that the material also effectively increases the surface area of the electrode and increases the amount of GMP adsorbed. Under the optimum conditions, the oxidation current is proportional to the GMP concentration in the range from 0.1 to 59.7???M with a correlation coefficient of 0.9991. The detection limit is 0.025???M (at S/N?=?3).

Electrical Control of Urease Activity Immobilized to the Conducting Polymer on the Carbon Felt Electrode

The activity of urease varies by its redox reaction. Active urease has an SH group that is essential to exhibit its activity, however, oxidation agents such as quinone compounds can oxidize the SH group in urease and a S–S bond is produced, resulting in the loss of enzyme activity. The reduction potential of cystine was almost the same as that of the recovery of urease activity. In this work, it has been found that the SH group of urease can be oxidized by not only chemical reaction but also by the direct electrode oxidation of urease and the produced S–S bond can be reduced to SH group by chemical and electrode reactions, and the original enzyme activity is recovered. This research shows that the regulation of urease activity is easily possible by changing the electrode potential of the porous carbon felt immobilized urease. The variation of urease activity was monitored by ammonia or carbon dioxide electrode equipped with the urease immobilized carbon felt, and the ammonia or carbon oxide generated from urea can transfer through the carbon felt to reach the each gas permeable membrane. The combination of gas electrode with porous conducting material such as carbon can supply the novel device for the electrochemical investigation of enzyme activity.     

High Energy Density Heteroatom (O,N and S) Enriched Activated Carbon for Rational Design of Symmetric Supercapacitors

Carbon-based symmetric supercapacitors (SCs) are known for their high power density and long cyclability, making them an ideal candidate for power sources in new-generation electronic devices. To boost their electrochemical performances, deriving activated carbon doped with heteroatoms such as N, O, and S are highly desirable for increasing the specific capacitance. In this regard, activated carbon (AC) self-doped with heteroatoms is directly derived from bio-waste (lima-bean shell) using different KOH activation processes. The heteroatom-enriched AC synthesized using a pretreated carbon-to-KOH ratio of 1:2 (ONS@AC-2) shows excellent surface morphology with a large surface area of 1508 m² g⁻¹. As an SC electrode material, the presence of heteroatoms (N and S) reduces the interfacial charge-transfer resistance and increases the ion-accessible surface area, which inherently provides additional pseudocapacitance. The ONS@AC-2 electrode attains a maximum specific capacitance (C_sp) of 342 F g⁻¹ at a specific current of 1 Ag⁻¹ in 1 m NaClO₄ electrolyte at the wide potential window of 1.8 V. Moreover, as symmetric SCs the ONS@AC-2 electrode delivers a maximum specific capacitance (C_sc) of 191 F g⁻¹ with a maximum specific energy of 21.48 Wh kg⁻¹ and high specific power of 14 000 W kg⁻¹ and excellent retention of its initial capacitance (98 %) even after 10000 charge/discharge cycles. In addition, a flexible supercapacitor fabricated utilizing ONS@AC-2 electrodes and a LiCl/polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)-based polymer electrolyte shows a maximum C_sc of 119 F g⁻¹ with considerable specific energy and power.     

Electrodeposited NiSe_2 on carbon fiber cloth as a flexible electrode for high-performance supercapacitors

A flexible electrode of nickel diselenide/carbon fiber cloth(NiSe_2/CFC) is fabricated at room temperature by a simple and efficient electrodeposition method. Owing to NiSe_2 character of nanostructure and high conductivity, the as-synthesized electrodes possess perfect pseudocapacitive property with high specific capacitance and excellent rate capability. In three-electrode system, the electrode specific capacitance of the NiSe_2/CFC electrode varies from 1058 F g~(-1) to 996.3 F g~(-1) at 2 A g~(-1) to 10 A g~(-1) respectively, which shows great rate capability. Moreover, the NiSe_2 electrode is assembled with an active carbon(AC) electrode to form an asymmetric supercapacitor with an extended potential window of 1.6 V. The asymmetric supercapacitor possesses an excellent energy density 32.7 Wh kg~(-1) with a power density 800 W kg~(-1) at the current density of 1 A g~(-1). The nanosheet array on carbon fiber cloth with high flexibility, specific capacitance and rate capacitance render the NiSe_2 to be regarded as the promising material for the high performance superconductor.     

A hydrogen peroxide biosensor based on direct electron transfer from hemoglobin to an electrode modified with Nafion and activated nanocarbon

A biosensor for hydrogen peroxide (HP) was developed by immobilizing hemoglobin on a glassy carbon electrode modified with activated carbon nanoparticles/Nafion. The characteristics of the sensor were studied by UV?Cvis spectroscopy and electrochemical methods. The immobilized Hb retained its native secondary structure, undergoes direct electron transfer (with a heterogeneous rate constant of 3.37?±?0.5?s^?1), and displays excellent bioelectrocatalytic activity to the reduction of HP. Under the optimal conditions, its amperometric response varies linearly with the concentration of HP in the range from 0.9???M to 17???M. The detection limit is 0.4???M (at S/N?=?3). Due to the commercial availability and low cost of activated carbon nanoparticles, it can be considered as a useful supporting material for construction of other third-generation biosensors.

On the meaning of the impedance concept in the case of an object that varies with time and in the case of a swept F frequency

Expressions are derived that describe the behaviour of a condenser the capacity of which varies linearly with time under potentiostatic and galvanostatic a.c. conditions. The “impedances are found to be different. Application to the dropping mercury electrode is indicated. Also the behaviour of a constant capacitor subject to a frequency swept a.c. potential or current is calculated. The admittance of the capacitor is found to have increased in the latter two cases.     

基于玉米秸秆合成的多孔生物质炭材料及其电化学储能

以玉米秸秆为原料,合成了高比表面积(2167 m²/g)的多孔生物质炭材料。 优化实验条件即可获得性能最佳的生物质炭电极材料,其在电流密度为1 A/g时的比电容高达390 F/g。 更重要的是,以所得最佳多孔生物质炭为电极材料,3 mol/L 的KOH溶液为电解质,组装了液相对称超级电容器。 该超级电容器在功率密度为818 W/kg时,其能量密度高达7 Wh/kg,在循环10000圈后的电容保持率为91.1%。 同时,将两个这种超级电容器串联充电之后,能够点亮15个LED灯并驱动小风扇正常工作。 这些结果表明,将基于玉米秸秆的多孔生物质炭作为先进电极材料应用于超级电容器具有较大的实际应用价值。     

Effect of initial carbon sources on the electrochemical detection of glucose by Gluconobacter oxydans

An electrochemical system consisted of Gluconobacter oxydans as a microorganism and 2-hydroxy-1,4-naphthoquinone (HNQ) as a mediator has been setup to examine the effect of initial carbon sources on the detection of glucose. Catalytic current due to the oxidation of glucose was observed only when both G. oxydans and HNQ were present. From amperometric measurements, it was found that the sensitivity strongly depended on the initial carbon sources. The sensitivity was highest for the cells cultured in a fructose-containing medium and decreased in the order, mannitol > sucrose > glucose > galactose > glycerol. The difference in sensitivity was explained by considering the current rising pattern at an initial stage of a microbial fuel cell constructed with the same components. The rising time, not the fuel cell efficiency, could directly be related to the sensitivity order. A sensor where G. oxydans was confined at the vicinity of the electrode by the semipermeable membrane was constructed. A linear response over a millimolar range of glucose concentration was observed with a cell grown in galactose-containing medium. This work demonstrates that the initial carbon source play an important role on glucose sensoring and should be considered in a real application.     

Amperometric enzyme electrodes for the determination of volatile alcohols in the headspace above fruit and vegetable juices

The surface of a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) was modified by electropolymerization of acridine red followed by drop-coating of graphene. The morphology was characterized by scanning electron microscopy. Uric acid (UA) is effectively accumulated on the surface of the modified electrode and generates a sensitive anodic peak in solutions of pH 6.5. Differential pulse voltammetry was used to evaluate the electrochemical response of the modified GCE to UA. Compared to the bare GCE, the GCE modified with acridine red, and to the graphene modified electrode, the new GCE displays high electrochemical activity in giving an oxidation peak current that is proportional to the concentration of UA in the range from 0.8 to 150?μM, with a detection limit of 0.3?μM (at an S/N of 3). The modified electrode displays excellent selectivity, sensitivity, and a wide linear range. It has been applied to the determination of UA in real samples with satisfactory results.

Immobilization of glucose oxidase on carbon paper electrodes modified with conducting polymer and its application to a glucose fuel cell

A carbon paper electrode was modified with the conducting copolymer of 3-methylthiopene and thiophene-3-acetic acid prepared electrochemically on the electrode, and an enzyme electrode was fabricated by covalent immobilization of glucose oxidase on the modified electrode. The modification with the conducting copolymer increased the surface area of the electrode and the amount of the immobilized enzyme. As a result, the enzyme electrode showed a high catalytic activity. Moreover, it was found that the increased surface area led to a high rate of electron transfer reaction between the electrode and p-benzoquinone employed as an electron mediator. The enzyme electrode fabricated with the modified carbon paper gave a larger glucose oxidation current than that fabricated with the bare one. In addition, the glucose oxidation current was found to increase with increasing content of the conducting copolymer in the modified carbon paper. Corresponding to the large glucose oxidation current, high performance was confirmed for the glucose fuel cell constructed with the enzyme electrode based on the modified carbon paper.     

Evaluation of reinforcement corrosion rate in concrete structures by electrochemical noise measurements

Experimental results on the polarization resistance estimation in a three-electrode setup that consists of two carbon steel electrodes and the silver reference electrode are presented. The corrosion rate varies with the conditions changing inside the concrete structure due to its irregular wetting in an aqueous solution of NaCl. The change of polarization resistance of a single steel electrode can be identified by voltage and current electrochemical noise measurements. The observed change does not exceed the factor of a few times of the originally recognized value. The newly proposed method of electrochemical noise analysis for monitoring of swift corrosion rate changes is presented in detail. Published in Russian in Elektrokhimiya, 2006, Vol. 42, No. 5, pp. 611–616. The text was submitted by the authors in English.     

Microelectrodes with gold nanoparticles and self-assembled monolayers for in vivo recording of striatal dopamine

Electrochemical determination of in vivo dopamine (DA) using implantable microelectrodes is essential for monitoring the DA depletion of an animal model of Parkinson's disease (PD), but faces substantial interference from ascorbic acid (AA) in the brain area due to similar electroactive characteristics. This study utilizes gold nanoparticles (Au-NPs) and self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) to modify platinum microelectrodes for improving sensitivity and specificity to DA and alleviating AA interference. With appropriate choice of ω-mercaptoalkane carboxylic acid chain length, our results show that a platinum microelectrode coated with Au-NPs and 3-mercaptopropionic acid (MPA) has approximately an 881-fold specificity to AA. During amperometric measurements, Au-NP/MPA reveals that the responsive current is linearly dependent on DA over the range of 0.01-5 μM with a correlation coefficient of 0.99 and the sensitivity is 2.7-fold that of a conventional Nafion-coated electrode. Other important features observed include fast response time (below 2 s), resistance to albumin adhesion and low detection limit (7 nM) at a signal to noise ratio of 3. Feasibility of in vivo DA recording with the modified microelectrodes is verified by real-time monitoring of electrically stimulated DA release in the striatum of anesthetized rats with various stimulation parameters and administration of a DA uptake inhibitor. The developed microelectrodes present an attractive alternative to the traditional options for continuous electrochemical in vivo DA monitoring.     

Adaptative finite element simulation of currents at microelectrodes to a guaranteed accuracy. Application to a simple model problem

In this series of papers we consider the general problem of numerical simulation of the currents at microelectrodes using an adaptive finite element approach. Microelectrodes typically consist of an electrode embedded (or recessed) in an insulating material. For all such electrodes, numerical simulation is made difficult by the presence of a boundary singularity at the electrode edge (where the electrode meets the insulator), manifested by the large increase in the current density at this point, often referred to as the ‘edge-effect’. Our approach to overcoming this problem involves the derivation of an a posteriori bound on the error in the numerical approximation for the current that can be used to drive an adaptive mesh-generation algorithm. This allows us to calculate the current to within a prescribed tolerance. We begin by demonstrating the power of the method for a simple model problem — an E reaction mechanism at a microdisc electrode — for which the analytical solution is known. In this paper we give the background to the problem, and show how an a posteriori error bound can be used to drive an adaptive mesh-generation algorithm. We then use the algorithm to solve our model problem and obtain very accurate results on comparatively coarse meshes in minimal computing time. We give the technical details of the background theory and the derivation of the error bound in the accompanying paper.     

高功率超级电容器用介孔炭电极材料

以纳米CaCO3为模板、蔗糖为前躯体制备超级电容器用介孔炭电极材料.材料的结构由氮吸附、TEM表征,借助恒流充放电、循环伏安和交流阻抗评价了其在6 mol.L-1KOH电解液中的电化学电容性能.结果表明,蔗糖基介孔炭的比表面积606 m2/g,富含10~30 nm的介孔.恒流放电法测得介孔炭在电流密度50 mA/g下的比电容为125 F/g,大电流倍率性能特别突出.电流密度增大到20 000 mA/g,比电容还保持有88F/g,远高于进口电容炭,该介孔炭是一种很有前景的高功率超级电容器炭电极材料.     

A novel carbon electrode material for highly improved EDLC performance

Porous materials, developed by grafting functional groups through chemical surface modification with a surfactant, represent an innovative concept in energy storage. This work reports, in detail, the first practical realization of a novel carbon electrode based on grafting of vinyltrimethoxysilane (vtmos) functional group for energy storage in electric double layer capacitor (EDLC). Surface modification with surfactant vtmos enhances the hydrophobisation of activated carbon and the affinity toward propylene carbonate (PC) solvent, which improves the wettability of activated carbon in the electrolyte solution based on PC solvent, resulting in not only a lower resistance to the transport of electrolyte ions within micropores of activated carbon but also more usable surface area for the formation of electric double layer, and accordingly, higher specific capacitance, energy density, and power capability available from the capacitor based on modified carbon. Especially, the effects from surface modification become superior at higher discharge rate, at which much better EDLC performance (i.e., much higher energy density and power capability) has been achieved by the modified carbon, suggesting that the modified carbon is a novel and very promising electrode material of EDLC for large current applications where both high energy density and power capability are required.     

Multiwall Carbon Nanotube (MWCNT) Based Electrochemical Biosensors for Mediatorless Detection of Putrescine

γ‐Aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES)‐induced solubilization of multi‐wall carbon nanotube CNTs allowed for the modification of electrode surfaces. APTES also served as an immobilization matrix for putrescine oxidase (POx) to construct an amperometric biosensor. Although CNTs modified by APTES acted as semiconductors to reduce the exposed sensing surface, we reasoned that nanoscale “dendrites” of CNTS modified by APTES formed a network and projected outwards from the electrode surface and acted like bundled ultra‐microelectrodes that allowed access to the active site and facilitated direct electron transfer to the immobilized enzyme. Our biosensor was able to efficiently monitor direct electroactivity of POx at the electrode surface. The putrescine biosensor prepared using the modified glassy carbon electrode exhibited current response within 10 s with a detection limit of 500 nM.     

Carbon fiber microelectrodes modified with carbon nanotubes as a new support for immobilization of glucose oxidase

Carboxylated carbon nanotubes were coated onto carbon microfiber electrodes to create a micron-scale bioelectrode. This material has a high surface area and can serve as a support for immobilization of enzymes such as glucose oxidase. A typical carbon nanotube loading of 13???g?cm^?1 yields a coating thickness of 17???m and a 2000-fold increase in surface capacitance. The modified electrode was further coated with a biocatalytic hydrogel composed of a conductive redox polymer, glucose oxidase, and a crosslinker to create a glucose bioelectrode. The current density on oxidation of glucose is 16.6?mA?cm^?2 at 0.5?V (vs. Ag/AgCl) in oxygen-free glucose solution. We consider this approach to be useful for designing and characterizing surface treatments for carbon mats and papers by mimicking their local microenvironment.