The Influence of Doping Levels and Surface Termination on the Electrochemistry of Polycrystalline Diamond

The influence of surface chemistry and boron doping density on the redox chemistry of Fe(CN) at CVD polycrystalline diamond electrodes is considered. It is demonstrated that for this couple both the doping density and the surface chemistry are important in determining the rate of charge transfer at the electrode/electrolyte interface. For hydrogen terminated CVD diamond metallic electrochemical behavior is always observed, even at boron doping densities as low as 7×10¹⁸ cm^?3. In contrast, the electrochemical behavior of oxygen terminated CVD diamond varies with doping density, a metallic response being observed at high doping density and semiconductor behavior at low doping density. It is shown that the results attained may be explained by a surface state mediated charge transfer mechanism, thus demonstrating the importance of controlling surface chemistry in electroanalytical applications of diamond.     

Optical studies of the electrode-electrolyte solution interphase using reflectance methods: Part III. The adsorption of water at a mercury electrode

Reflectivity changes at a lead electrode in contact with aqueous sodium fluoride were measured at surface charge densities in the range ?10 to +8×10^?6 C cm^?2 using modulated specular reflectance spectroscopy. The electroreflectance effect in the metal and changes in the layer of adsorbed water provided the major contributions to the optical effects. It was possible to separate out this latter component and to compute values for the changing surface concentration of water as a function of charge. Measurable changes were observed only for surface charge values more anodic than ?4×10^?6 C cm^?2 and at +8×10^?6 C cm^?2 the surface concentration of water had increased by 3.5×10¹³ molecules cm^?2.     

Electrochemical Responses and Sensitivities of Films Based on Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes in Aqueous Solutions

Novel films consisting of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were fabricated by means of chemical vapor deposition with decomposition of either acetonitrile (ACN) or benzene (BZ) using ferrocene as catalyst. The electrochemical responses of MWCNT-based films towards the ferrocyanide/ferricyanide, [Fe(CN)₆]^3?/4? redox couple were probed by means of cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy at 25.0?±?0.5?°C. Both MWCNT-based films exhibit Nernstian response towards [Fe(CN)₆]^3?/4? with some slight kinetic differences. Namely, heterogeneous electron transfer rate constants lying in ranges of 2.69?×?10^?2?C1.7?×?10^?3 and 9.0?×?10^?3?C2.6?×?10^?3?cm·s^?1 were obtained at v?=?0.05?V·s^?1 for MWCNT_ACN and MWCNT_BZ, respectively. The detection limit of MWCNT_ACN, estimated to be about 4.70?×?10^?7?mol·L^?1 at v?=?0.05?V·s^?1, tends to become slightly poorer with the increase of the scan rate, namely at v?=?0.10?V·s^?1 the detection limit of 1.70?×?10^?6?mol·L^?1 was determined. Slightly poorer response ability was exhibited by MWCNT_BZ; specifically the detection limits of 1.57?×?10^?6 and 4.35?×?10^?6?mol·L^?1 were determined at v?=?0.05 and v?=?0.10?V·s^?1, respectively. The sensitivities of MWCNT_ACN and MWCNT_BZ towards [Fe(CN)₆]^3?/4? were determined as 1.60?×?10^?7 and 1.51?×?10^?7?A·L·mol^?1·cm^?2, respectively. The excellent electrochemical performance of MWCNT_ACN is attributed to the presence of incorporated nitrogen in the nanotube??s structure.     

Effect of Doping and Solution Redox Relays on the Efficiency of Photocathodic Processes at the p-InP/Water Interface

Light-induced interfacial electron transfer from two p-InP electrodes differing in the amount of majority carrier doping to a number of electron relays ( R ) dissolved in aqueous solution was investigated. The material with the lower carrier density (0.71 × 10¹⁸ cm^?3) exhibited much better wavelength response and quantum yield for electron transfer than the electrode doped with 2.3 × 10¹⁸ cm^?3 charge carriers. Using cobalt (III) sepulcrate, Co (sep)³⁺, as an electron relay a polychromatic light to electrical energy conversion efficiency of 18% was obtained. The potential of this relay for use in a regenerative photoelectrochemical cell is briefly discussed.     

Syntheses,properties, and field‐effect transistors of small band gap quinoxaline‐ and thienopyrazine‐vinylene/ethynylene conjugated polymers

New conjugated copolymers of quinoxaline (AQ) and thienopyrazine (ATP) with vinylene (V) or ethynylene (E), poly[2,3‐bis(4‐(2‐ethylhexyloxy)phenyl)‐quinoxaline vinylene] (PAQV), poly[2,3‐bis(4‐(2‐ethylhexyloxy)phenyl)‐quinoxaline ethynylene)] (PAQE), poly[2,3‐bis(4‐(2‐ethylhexyloxy)phenyl)‐thieno[3,4‐b]pyrazine vinylene] (PATPV), and poly[2,3‐bis(4‐(2‐ethylhexyloxy)phenyl)‐thieno[3,4‐b]pyrazine ethynylene] (PATPE), were successfully synthesized by Stille coupling reaction. The optical band gaps of the PAQV, PAQE, PATPV, and PATPE were 1.86, 2.00, 0.88, and 0.90 eV, respectively, whereas the electrochemical band gaps were 1.99, 2.06, 1.00, and 1.06 eV, respectively. The reduced steric hindrance by the incorporation of the V or E linkage or the intramolecular charge transfer between the acceptor and the V or E linkage led to the small band gap. The AQ/ATP‐vinylene copolymers exhibited much higher vis/near infrared absorption intensity than the AQ/ATP‐ethynylene suggested the stronger π–π* transition intensity in the former and led to better charge‐transporting characteristics. The saturation field‐effect hole mobilities of the PATPV were 2.1 × 10^?3, 1.7 × 10^?2, and 1.1 × 10^?2 cm² V^?1 s^?1 on bare, octyltrichlorosilane (OTS)‐treated, and octadecyltrichlorosilane(ODTS)‐treated SiO₂, respectively, with on‐off current ratios of 35, 6.02 × 10², and 7.56 × 10². On the other hand, the estimated field‐effect transistor hole mobility of the PATPE was in the range of 1.7 × 10^?6–8.1 × 10^?4 cm² V^?1 s^?1, which was significantly smaller than those of the PATPV. The small band gaps and high charge carrier mobility of the prepared copolymers suggested their potential applications for near‐infrared electronic and optoelectronic devices. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 48: 74–81, 2010     

Ion-Molecule reactions in methylamine and dimethylamine and trimethylamine systems

Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry has been used to measure the reaction rates for ions derived from methylamine with dimethylamine or trimethylamine. The use of the selective ion ejection technique greatly simplifies the elucidation of the ion-molecule reaction channels. The rate constants for proton transfer from protonated metwlamine, CH₃NH ₃ ⁺ (m/z 32), to dimethylamine and trimethylamine are 16.1 ± 1.6 × 10^?10 and 9.3 ± 0.9 × 10^?10 cm³ molec^?1s^?1, respectively. The rate constants for charge transfer from methylamine molecular ion, CH₃NH ₂ ⁺ (m/z 31), to dimethylamine and trimethylamine are 9.3 ± 1.8 x 10^?10 and 15.0 ± 5 × 10^?10 cm³molec^?1s^?1, respectively.     

Electrochemical DNA impedance biosensor for the detection of DNA hybridization with polymeric film, single walled carbon nanotubes modified glassy carbon electrode

In this work, we report the fabrication of a sensitive electrochemical DNA impedance biosensor for the detection of sequence-specific target DNA. p-Aminobenzoic acid was first immobilized on the surface of the electrode modified with single walled carbon nanotubes with carboxylic acid groups (SWCNTs) by cyclic voltammetry (CV). A single-stranded DNA probe with a NH₂ group at the end (H₂N-ssDNA) was then covalently immobilized on the surface of polymeric film at room temperature. The impedance measurement was performed in a solution containing 5 mM K₃[Fe(CN)₆]/K₄[Fe(CN)₆]. The change of interfacial charge transfer resistance (R _CT) was confirmed the hybrid formation. The difference of R _CT was linear with the logarithm of complementary oligonucleotides concentrations in the range of 1.0 × 10^?12 to 1.0 × 10^?7 M, with a detection limit of 3.5 × 10^?13 M (S/N = 3).     

Adsorption of succinonitrile at the mercury-aqueous solution interface: Unusual role of a fixed dipole in the adsorbed molecule

The adsorption of succinonitrile (SN) on a polarized Hg electrode has been studied from 0.25 M NaF aqueous solutions by means of both capacity and electrocapillary curves. Adsorption isotherms have been found to be strictly congruent with respect to both charge and potential. The charge of maximum adsorption is at ?4.6 μC cm^?2 and ΔG_ads⁰, the free energy of adsorption at zero coverage, decreases more rapidly as the charge is made positive with respect to O_max^M than on the other side. The adsorption obeys a Frumkin isotherm with a=?1.87 corresponding to attraction and saturation concentration of 4.8×10^?10 mol cm^?2 corresponding to an area per molecule of about 34.5 Ų. Experimental results suggest that SN adsorbs flat on the surface but, unlike acetonitrile and propionitrile, the CN groups are slightly turned towards the solution. This is responsible for the absence of electronic interaction of the CN groups with the metal at positive charges, which is apparent with the other two nitriles. Implications of the particular structure of the adsorbed molecule on the other adsorption parameters are discussed in detail.     

Hole transport of trans-1,2-biscarbazolylcyclobutane-doped poly(bisphenol A carbonate) film

The hole transport of trans-1,2-biscarbazolylcyclobutane (CB) doped poly(bisphenol A carbonate) (PC) film has been investigated in the CB concentration range of 3.8 × 10^?4 mol cm^?3 (12 wt%) to 1.6 × 10^?3 mol cm^?3 (51 wt%). The hole mobility increased drastically with increasing CB concentration. The hole mobility was analyzed by a random hopping model. The localization radius ρ₀ of the CB/PC system was 1.9 Å, which is larger than that obtained for the N-isopropyl-carbazole-doped PC system. This suggests that the larger localization radius of the CB/PC system is related to the larger spatial extent of the CB molecule. The highest hole mobility of 2.9 × 10^?6 cm² V^?1 s^?1 was obtained when the CB concentration was 1.6 × 10^?3 mol cm^?3 (51 wt%) at E = 1.6 × 10⁵ V cm^?1 and T = 298 K. This mobility is about 10 times higher than that of poly(N-vinylcarbazole) (PVCz). The activation energy of hole mobility for the CB/PC system decreased with increasing CB concentration and was 0.31 eV at 51 wt% of CB, which is lower than the 0.45 eV for PVCz. The low activation energy for the CB/PC system is ascribed to the absence of an excimer-forming site that works as a multiple-trapping site for hole carriers.     

A Compact Tetrathiafulvalene–Benzothiadiazole Dyad and Its Highly Symmetrical Charge‐Transfer Salt: Ordered Donor π‐Stacks Closely Bound to Their Acceptors

A compact and planar donor–acceptor molecule 1 comprising tetrathiafulvalene (TTF) and benzothiadiazole (BTD) units has been synthesised and experimentally characterised by structural, optical, and electrochemical methods. Solution‐processed and thermally evaporated thin films of 1 have also been explored as active materials in organic field‐effect transistors (OFETs). For these devices, hole field‐effect mobilities of μ_FE=(1.3±0.5)×10^?3 and (2.7±0.4)×10^?3 cm² V s^?1 were determined for the solution‐processed and thermally evaporated thin films, respectively. An intense intramolecular charge‐transfer (ICT) transition at around 495 nm dominates the optical absorption spectrum of the neutral dyad, which also shows a weak emission from its ICT state. The iodine‐induced oxidation of 1 leads to a partially oxidised crystalline charge‐transfer (CT) salt {( 1 )₂I₃}, and eventually also to a fully oxidised compound { 1 I₃} ? 1/2I₂. Single crystals of the former CT compound, exhibiting a highly symmetrical crystal structure, reveal a fairly good room temperature electrical conductivity of the order of 2 S cm^?1. The one‐dimensional spin system bears compactly bonded BTD acceptors (spatial localisation of the LUMO) along its ridge.     

Electroconductivity and transport numbers of solid electrolytes La10−x CaxA6O27−δ and La9.33+δA6−x AlxO26 (A = Si, Ge) with apatite-like structure

The ion-oxygen conductivity of apatite-like compounds based on lanthanum silicates and germanates La₁₀A₆O₂₇ (A = Si, Ge), La_10?x Ca_xSi₆O_27?δ (x = 0.25, 0.5, 1.0), La_9.75Ca_0.25Ge₆O_27?δ and La_9.33+δSi_6?x Al_xO₂₆(x=0.4, 0.8, 1.5) is studied in the interval of partial oxygen pressures pO₂ extending from 10^?16 to 10⁵ Pa, at temperatures of 500–1000°C. The electroconductivity of undoped compounds La₁₀A₆O₂₇ (A = Si, Ge) exceeds that of yttria-stabilized zirconia. The electroconductivity of lanthanum germanate (1.7 × 10^?2 and 8.5 × 10^?2S cm^?1 at 700 and 900°C, respectively) is substantially higher than that of lanthanum silicate (9.8 × 10^?3 and 3.5 × 10^?2 S cm^?1 at 700 and 900°C). Doping lanthanum germanate with calcium raises its electroconductivity (2.7 × 10^?2 and 1.3 × 10^?1 S cm^?1 for La_9.75Ca_0.25Ge₆O_27?δ at 700 and 900°C). Conversely, doping lanthanum silicate with ions of calcium or aluminum reduces the conductivity. In the pO₂ interval studied, the above compounds are ionic conductors and represent a class of solid electrolytes of promise for various electrochemical devices.     

A new sensor architecture based on carbon Printex 6L to the electrochemical determination of ranitidine

A glassy carbon electrode (GCE) modified with carbon Printex 6L (Printex6L/GCE) as a novel sensor is proposed. A morphological study was carried out using scanning electron microscopy, and an electrochemical characterization of the proposed electrode was performed by cyclic voltammetry (CV) using [Fe(CN)₆]^4? as a redox probe. With the incorporation of the carbon Printex 6L film onto the GCE surface, the [Fe(CN)₆]^4? analytical signal was substantially increased and the difference between the oxidation and reduction potentials (ΔE _p) decreased, a characteristic of the electrocatalytic effect. Furthermore, the use of carbon Printex 6L film resulted in an 84 % increase in the oxidation current and a 123 % increase in the reduction current. Faster charge transfer was observed at the proposed electrode/electrolyte interface during CV when compared with GCE. The Printex6L/GCE was tested for ranitidine (RNT) sensing and showed a decrease in the working potential and an increase in the analytical signal, when compared with GCE, again demonstrating an electrocatalytic effect. Under optimized experimental conditions, the developed square-wave adsorptive anodic stripping voltammetry (SWAdASV) method presented an analytical curve that was linear in RNT concentration range from 1.98 × 10^?6 to 2.88 × 10^?5 mol L^?1 with a detection limit of 2.44 × 10^?7 mol L^?1. The developed Printex6L/GCE was successfully applied to the determination of RNT concentrations in human body fluid samples (urine and serum).     

Poly(thienylene‐vinylene‐thienylene) with cyano substituent: Synthesis and application in field‐effect transistor and polymer solar cell

A novel conjugated polymer, poly(thienylene‐vinylene‐thienylene) with cyano substituent ( CN‐PTVT ) was synthesized via Stille coupling for the application in air stable field‐effect transistor and polymer solar cell. The polymer was characterized by ¹H NMR, elemental analysis, UV‐vis absorption and photoluminescence spectroscopy, TGA, cyclic voltammetry and XRD analysis. CN‐PTVT exhibits a good thermal stability with 5% weight loss at 306 °C. The FET hole mobility of the polymer reached 5.9 × 10^?3 cm² V^?1 s^?1 with I_on/I_off ratio of 4.9 × 10⁴, which is one of the highest performance among the air‐stable amorphous polymers. The polymer solar cell based on CN‐PTVT as donor and PCBM as acceptor shows a relatively high open‐circuit voltage of 0.82 V and a power conversion efficiency of 0.3% under the illumination of AM1.5, 100 mW/cm². © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 47: 4028–4036, 2009     

The effect of thallium ions on the gold dissolution rate in thiosulfate electrolytes

The effect of TlNO₃ additions in the concentration (c ₁) range from 5 × 10^?6 to 1 × 10^?4 M on the anodic dissolution of gold in sodium thiosulfate solutions with the concentration (c ₂) from 0.005 to 0.2 M is studied by voltammetry on the electrode surface renewed by cutting off a thin metal layer immediately in solution and also by the quartz-crystal microbalance method. For c ₂ = 0.2 M, as c ₁ increases from 5 × 10^?6 to 1 × 10^?4 M, the gold anodic dissolution rate is observed to increase from 0.02 (in the absence of TlNO₃) to 0.75 mA/cm² for c ₁ = 7.5 × 10^?5 M according to a nearly linear law. The dissolution accelerates because the effective values of the transfer coefficient and the exchange current density increase from 0.2 and 4 ??A/cm² (in the absence of TlNO₃ admixtures) to 0.47 and 35 ??A/cm² (for c ₁ = 1 × 10^?4), respectively. Experiments with the renewal of the electrode surface in the course of electrolysis suggest that the gold dissolution is catalyzed in the presence of thallium ions by the adsorption mechanism and also as the result of the mixed kinetics of their adsorption on the electrode surface.     

The electrochemical performance of sodium-ion-modified spinel LiMn2O4 used for lithium-ion batteries

The spinel LiMn₂O₄ cathode material has been considered as one of the most potential cathode active materials for rechargeable lithium ion batteries. The sodium-doped LiMn₂O₄ is synthesized by solid-state reaction. The X-ray diffraction analysis reveals that the Li_1?x Na _x Mn₂O₄ (0?≤?x?≤?0.01) exhibits a single phase with cubic spinel structure. The particles of the doped samples exhibit better crystallinity and uniform distribution. The diffusion coefficient of the Li_0.99Na_0.01Mn₂O₄ sample is 2.45?×?10^?10 cm^?2 s^?1 and 3.74?×?10^?10 cm^?2 s^?1, which is much higher than that of the undoped spinel LiMn₂O₄ sample, indicating the Na⁺-ion doping is favorable to lithium ion migration in the spinel structure. The galvanostatic charge–discharge results show that the Na⁺-ion doping could improve cycling performance and rate capability, which is mainly due to the higher ion diffusion coefficient and more stable spinel structure.     

A low energy ICR study of the symmetric charge transfer reaction 3He+ + 4He → 4He+ + 3He

The kinetic energy dependence of the charge reactions ³He⁺ + ⁴He ? ³He + ⁴He⁺ was investigated using a modified ion cyclotron double resonance technique. The rate constant increases monotonically from (5.0 ± 0.5) × 10^?10 cm³ molecule^?1 sec^?1 at 0.1 eV to 55 × 10^?10 cm³ molecule^?1 sec^?1 at a relative kinetic energy of 25 eV. The results compare favorably with theoretical predications for symmetric resonance charge transfer.     

Facile preparation of nitrogen-doped graphene scrolls via acoustic cavitation as electrocatalyst for glucose biosensing

Nitrogen doping is considered as a promising strategy to tailor and develop the intrinsic properties of graphene. In this work, we report a facile method for preparation of nitrogen-doped graphene scrolls (N-GSS) through acoustic cavitation, which can not only realize graphene nitrogen doping but also simultaneously result in its scrolled topological structure and improvement of reduction degree. As a metal-free electrocatalyst, the prepared N-GSS showed good electrocatalytic activity towards oxidation of hydrogen peroxide with the sensitivity of 87.8 μA mM^?1 cm^?2. Then N-GSS was employed as a matrix for glucose oxidase (GOD) loading, and the fabricated biosensor also exhibited excellent analytical characteristics, such as a high sensitivity (55.2 μA mM^?1 cm^?2), wide linear range (2 μM to 3.56 mM, R = 0.999) and low detection limit (1 μM).     

Direct electrochemistry and electrochemical biosensing of glucose oxidase based on CdSe@CdS quantum dots and MWNT-modified electrode

The direct electron transfer of glucose oxidase (GOx) was achieved based on the immobilization of CdSe@CdS quantum dots on glassy carbon electrode by multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWNTs)-chitosan (Chit) film. The immobilized GOx displayed a pair of well-defined and reversible redox peaks with a formal potential (E ^θ’) of ?0.459 V (versus Ag/AgCl) in 0.1 M pH 7.0 phosphate buffer solution. The apparent heterogeneous electron transfer rate constants (k _s) of GOx confined in MWNTs-Chit/CdSe@CdS membrane were evaluated as 1.56 s^?1 according to Laviron's equation. The surface concentration (Γ*) of the electroactive GOx in the MWNTs-Chit film was estimated to be (6.52?±?0.01)?×?10^?11?mol?cm^?2. Meanwhile, the catalytic ability of GOx toward the oxidation of glucose was studied. Its apparent Michaelis–Menten constant for glucose was 0.46?±?0.01 mM, showing a good affinity. The linear range for glucose determination was from 1.6?×?10^?4 to 5.6?×?10^?3?M with a relatively high sensitivity of 31.13?±?0.02 μA?mM^?1?cm^?2 and a detection limit of 2.5?×?10^?5?M (S/N=3).     

Ozone reduction at Nafion modified Au electrode and the measurement of ozone concentration in highly resistive solutions

The mass transport and charge transfer kinetics of ozone reduction at Nafion coated Au electrodes were studied in 0.5 mol/L H2SO4 and highly resistive solutions such as distilled water and tap water. The diffusion coefficient and partition coefficient of ozone in Nafion coating are 1.78×10-6 cm2·s-1 and 2.75 at 25℃ (based on dry state thickness), respectively. The heterogeneous rate constants and Tafel slopes for ozone reduction at bare Au are 4.1×10-6 cm·s-1, 1.0×10-6 cm·s-1 and 181 mV, 207 mV in 0.5 mol/L H2SO4 and distilled water respectively and the corresponding values for Nafion coated Au are 5.5×10-6 cm·s-1, 1.1×10-6 cm·s-1 and 182 mV, 168 mV respectively. The Au microelectrode with 3 μm Nafion coating shows good linearity over the range 0-10 mmol/L ozone in distilled water with sensitivity 61 μA·ppm-1 ·cm-2, detection limit 10 ppb and 95% response time below 5 s at 25℃. The temperature coefficient in range of 11-30℃ is 1.3%.     

Efficient Blue‐Colored Solid‐State Dye‐Sensitized Solar Cells: Enhanced Charge Collection by Using an in Situ Photoelectrochemically Generated Conducting Polymer Hole Conductor

A high power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 5.5 % was achieved by efficiently incorporating a diketopyrrolopyrrole‐based dye with a conducting polymer poly(3,4‐ethylenediothiophene) (PEDOT) hole‐transporting material (HTM) that was formed in situ, compared with a PCE of 2.9 % for small molecular spiro‐OMeTAD‐based solid‐state dye solar cells (sDSCs). The high PCE for PEDOT‐based sDSCs is mainly attributed to the significantly enhanced charge‐collection efficiency, as a result of the three‐order‐of‐magnitude higher hole conductivity (0.53 S cm^?1) compared with that of the widely used low molecular weight HTM spiro‐OMeTAD (3.5×10^?4 S cm^?1).