Electrochemistry in tetrahydrofuran and at low temperature: protocol,procedures and methods

This review describes the protocol, procedures and methods for electrochemical studies in THF and at low temperature that have been developed in the course of the last 5 years in our laboratory. Electrochemical studies in THF benefit from a large accessible potential window. In practice, it is however necessary to avoid the presence of humidity in the electrochemical cell. A specific reference electrode had to be designed for those measurements. Microelectrodes, the voltammetric response of which is negligibly affected by the resistivity of the medium, were preferred to macroelectrodes. Moreover, a methodology has been developed for the quantitative analysis of both voltammetric and chronoamperometric curves obtained for the microelectrodes. The fitting of chronoamperometric measurements using the Shoup and Szabo's expression allows us to estimate the diffusion coefficient of the substrate. The modelling of the cyclic voltammograms measured over a large range of scan rates allows the confirmation of the diffusion coefficient of the substrate D_A, the determination of the diffusion coefficient of the electrogenerated molecule D_B, of the formal potential E, of the transfer coefficient α and of the standard heterogeneous rate constant for the electron transfer k₀. Typically, systems are investigated at temperatures ranging from room temperature to 192 K. Parameters obtained at various temperatures are used to extract, through Arrhenius plots, the activation energies both for the diffusion coefficient E_A(D) and for the electron transfer reaction E_A(k₀). Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Square‐Wave Voltammetry of Quasi‐Reversible CE Reactions at Spherical Microelectrodes

A mathematical model for the CE mechanism in which the chemical together with the electrochemical reactions are quasi‐reversible at the surface of spherical macro and micro‐electrodes is presented for the case of square‐wave voltammetry. The analysis of voltammometric responses considers the influence of rate and equilibrium constants, together with the electrode radius, and their dependence on the square‐wave frequency (f). Both kinetics and the sphericity effect act synergistically on the electrochemical response. Also, the apparent electrode sphericity and the reversibility of the chemical as well as the electrochemical reactions are jointly affected by the variation of f. Disregarding the sphericity contribution in the calculation of kinetic parameters at a microelectrode may introduce errors even higher than one order of magnitude. The model allows the analysis of a more realistic and complex electrochemical system that requires not only the dependence of experimental responses on f, but also their fit with theoretical voltammograms, in order to provide some useful mechanistic information. Finally, concentration profiles are also studied to realize how the chemical contribution is buffering the absences of oxidized species at the electrode surface, and how those profiles are modified for the case of spherical macro and micro‐electrodes.     

Constant-distance mode scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM)--Part I: Adaptation of a non-optical shear-force-based positioning mode for SECM tips

A non-optical shear-force-based detection scheme for accurately controlling the tip-to-sample distance in scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) is presented. With this approach, the detection of the shear force is accomplished by mechanically attaching a set of two piezoelectric plates to the scanning probe. One of the plates is used to excite the SECM tip causing it to resonate, and the other acts as a piezoelectric detector of the amplitude of the tip oscillation. Increasing shear forces in close proximity to the sample surface lead to a damping of the vibration amplitude and a phase shift, effects that are registered by connecting the detecting piezoelectric plate to a dual-phase analogue lock-in amplifier. The shear force and hence distance-dependent signal of the lock-in amplifier is used to establish an efficient, computer-controlled closed feedback loop enabling SECM imaging in a constant-distance mode of operation. The details of the SECM setup with an integrated piezoelectric shear-force distance control are described, and approach curves are shown. The performance of the constant-distance mode SECM with a non-optical detection of shear forces is illustrated by imaging simultaneously the topography and conductivity of an array of Pt-band microelectrodes.     

Using Ferrocenes to Assist in Voltammetric Characterization of Carbon Fiber Microelectrodes after Electrochemical and Laser Activation

In this report the voltammetry of water‐soluble ferrocene derivatives is used to characterize the surface of carbon fiber microelectrodes before and after both electrochemical and laser activation procedures. Activation of carbon electrodes is necessary to produce a reproducible surface that will allow fast electron transfer. However, the activation method that is best suited for a given analysis can differ with analyte. In order to directly compare activation methods and characterize the resulting electrode performance, the voltammetry of a set of ferrocenes which have fast and well‐known electrochemistry has been used. As expected, electrochemical activation (0.000 to 2.000 V (vs. SSCE) at 500 V/s for 15 seconds) resulted in a hydrophilic surface with increased surface area. Laser pretreatment (20 Hz pulsed nitrogen laser irradiation for 15 seconds) appeared to remove surface oxides thereby producing a more hydrophobic surface that facilitates the adsorption of neutral analytes. In general, anionic ferrocene derivatives exhibited more quasi‐reversible voltammetry and were not as strongly adsorbed as the neutral analyte, particularly with electrochemically activated probes. In addition, neutral analytes show considerable adsorption, particularly at laser‐activated electrodes, while the cationic analyte shows significant adsorption at only the electrochemically‐pretreated electrodes, indicating surface‐specific interactions.     

Nitric oxide release during evoked neuronal activity in cerebellum slices: detection with platinized carbon-fiber microelectrodes.

Nitric oxide is an important biological messenger that particularly induces the relaxation of smooth muscle cells surrounding vessels, and, hence, controls the flow of blood. This mechanism is essential for brain function, and its fine control, termed functional hyperemia, is supposed to be realized by certain neurons that may release bursts of NO*. The aim of the present study is to examine the advantages of platinized carbon-fiber microelectrodes (5-7 microm tip diameter) for the direct and in situ electrochemical detection of NO* released by neurons into ex vivo cerebellum slices. After establishing the different analytical properties of the platinized carbon-fiber microelectrodes in vitro on NO* solutions at 50 nM to 1 mM concentration, they were characterized using DEA-NONOate solutions that chemically decompose into NO*, and therefore mimic the measurement of transient variations of NO* concentration in biological samples. This validated the present approach, so that direct, in situ ex vivo measurements of nitric oxide released by neurons in a rat cerebellar slice are presented and discussed.     

Hydrodynamic microelectrode voltammetry

This review provides a detailed overview of the progress made in the last 25 years in the field of hydrodynamic microelectrodes (HMEs) with particular application to the study of electrochemical kinetics. A survey is made of the various types of HMEs that have been reported in the literature, with summaries of theoretical and experimental details along with the results published by each methodology. Conclusions are drawn regarding the comparative advantages and disadvantages of these techniques, and the channel and microject electrodes found to be preferred. Published in Russian in Elektrokhimiya, 2008, Vol. 44, No. 4, pp. 397–421. The text was submitted by the authors in English.     

Real Time In Vivo Measurement of Ascorbate in the Brain Using Carbon Nanotube‐Modified Microelectrodes

A carbon fiber microelectrode modified with a composite film of carbon nanotubes and Nafion was developed for in vivo ascorbate (AA) measurements in brain tissue. The modified‐microelectrodes exhibit an electrocatalytic activity for AA oxidation by shifting the peak potential negatively to ?0.040 V, showing a sensitivity of 37 pA/µM, a detection limit of 2.5 µM, a response time of 0.3 s and don’t respond to several electroactive compounds found in the brain extracellular space. In the rat hippocampus, the basal concentration of AA was 290 µM, and glutamate‐evoked changes in AA were biphasic comprising fast and slow components.     

一种微片式电极池及其应用

制作了一种微片式微柱电极池 ,双工作电极及参比电极和辅助电极都组装在约 1 .5～ 2cm2 的聚酯片中的槽型窗口上 ,在窗口上滴加溶液即成微型电解池 ,试样仅需 30 μL左右。已采用了几种电化学方法对池的性能进行了表征。得到的实验结果表明 ,无论采用该装置开展理论研究或实际应用 ,都具有一定的使用价值。应用这种电解池测定抗坏血酸 ,检出限可达 8× 1 0 -7mol/L。     

A Method for the Positioning and Tracking of Small Moving Particles

On the move : Electrochemistry has been used to detect and monitor the motion of a single 330 μm sphere in both time and space (see picture). The motion was recorded simultaneously by video and chronoamperometry, which showed an excellent correlation. The ability to fabricate electrode arrays capable of spatial resolution at the sub‐micrometer scale opens the possibility of using this technique to monitor considerably smaller particles.