Fabrication, characterization, and chemical etching of Ag nanoelectrodes

The previously developed methodologies for fabricating flat, polished nanoelectrodes were extended to produce silver electrodes with the radii from 50 nm to micrometers. The prepared electrodes were characterized by steady-state voltammetry, scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM), and atomic force microscopy. The protocol was developed for controlled chemical etching of silver in ammonia solutions to produce recessed nanoelectrodes. Voltammograms and SECM approach curves were obtained to evaluate the recess depth and other geometric parameters of the etched electrodes.