Oxygen and hydrogen peroxide reduction catalyses in neutral aqueous media using copper ion loaded glassy carbon electrode electrolyzed in ammonium carbamate solution

An aminated glassy carbon electrode (AGCE) can be obtained by the electrode oxidation of glassy carbon electrode in ammonium carbamate solution. In the cyclic voltammetric experiments, the electrode reduction of the dissolved oxygen began from −0.15 V vs. Ag/AgCl in neutral aqueous media when the aminated glassy carbon electrode was used as a working electrode although it began from −0.40 V vs. Ag/AgCl when a polished GCE was used. The nitrogen containing groups introduced by the electrode oxidation of carbamic acid must be related with the acceleration of the electron transfer rate of oxygen. Moreover, the new reduction wave of the dissolved oxygen appeared at +0.15 V vs. Ag/AgCl when copper (II) ion was coordinated to AGCE surface. This reduction potential of oxygen coincided with that of copper (II) ion and this fact suggests that the coordinated copper ion to the aminated carbon surface works as a redox mediator of oxygen. The reduction product of oxygen was monitored by rotating platinum ring - aminated glassy carbon disk electrode, and it was found that most of oxygen was reduced to water in a potential range negative than −0.4 V vs. Ag/AgCl. By using AGCE, it was recognized that the catalytic reduction of hydrogen peroxide was also taken place as well as oxygen reduction.     

Electrochemical activity of Geobacter sulfurreducens biofilms on stainless steel anodes

Stainless steel was studied as anode for the biocatalysis of acetate oxidation by biofilms of Geobacter sulfurreducens. Electrodes were individually polarized at different potential in the range −0.20 V to +0.20 V vs. Ag/AgCl either in the same reactor or in different reactors containing acetate as electron donor and no electron acceptor except the working electrode. At +0.20 V vs. Ag/AgCl, the current increased after a 2-day lag period up to maximum current densities around 0.7 A m⁻² and 2.4 A m⁻² with 5 mM and 10 mM acetate, respectively. No current was obtained during chronoamperometry (CA) at potential values lower than 0.00 V vs. Ag/AgCl, while the cyclic voltammetries (CV) that were performed periodically always detected a fast electron transfer, with the oxidation starting around −0.25 V vs. Ag/AgCl. Epifluorescent microscopy showed that the current recorded by chronoamperometry was linked to the biofilm growth on the electrode surface, while CVs were more likely linked to the cells initially adsorbed from the inoculum. A model was proposed to explain the electrochemical behaviour of the biofilm, which appeared to be controlled by the pioneering adherent cells playing the role of “electrochemical gate” between the biofilm and the electrode surface.     

Electrochemical modification of glassy carbon electrode by poly-4-nitroaniline and its application for determination of copper(II)

Electrochemical modification of glassy carbon (GC) electrode by poly-4-nitroaniline (P4NA), electrochemical reduction of P4NA and applicability of electrode modified in this way for determination of copper(II) (Cu(II)) is reported in this study. Electrochemical surface modification was performed by cyclic voltammetry in the potential range between +0.9 V and +1.4 V vs. Ag/Ag⁺ (in 10 mM AgNO₃) at the scan rate of 100 mV/s by 100 cycles in non-aqueous media. In order to provide electrochemical reduction of nitro groups on the P4NA-modified GC electrode surface (P4NA/GC), the cyclic voltammograms inducing/evidencing the reduction of nitro groups were performed in the potential range between −0.1 V and −0.8 V vs. Ag/AgCl/(sat.KCl) at the scan rate of 100 mV/s. The reduced P4NA/GC surfaces (Reduced-P4NA/GC) were treated with aqueous solution of nitrilotriacetic acid. The sensitivity of GC electrode modified in described way towards Cu(II) was investigated in Britton-Robinson buffer solution, pH 5.0. The potentiometric generic pulse technique was applied as innovative electrochemical method for detection of analytical signal. It was shown that GC electrodes modified in here described way will be suitable for the determination of Cu(II) in technological waste water and/or some other solutions containing Cu(II) ions.     

Cathodic electrochemiluminescence of luminol in aqueous solutions based on C-doped oxide covered titanium electrode

In the present work, a novel sensor for luminol electrochemiluminescence (ECL) was constructed on the base of a C-doped titanium oxide amorphous semiconductor electrode. The morphology, structural and electrochemical properties of the electrode was characterized by X-Ray diffraction, X-Ray photoelectron spectroscopy and electrochemical methods. The ECL behavior of luminol excited by hot electrons injected from C-doped oxide film-covered electrodes in aqueous medium has been investigated in B-R buffer solution (pH = 9) when linear sweep cyclic voltammetry (CV) was applied. Two ECL peaks were observed at −1.0 V (vs. Ag/AgCl, reduction process) and −0.75 V (vs. Ag/AgCl, oxidation process). The possible mechanism was discussed. The C-doped Ti oxide electrode shows excellent properties for sensitive determination of luminol with good reproducibility and stability. The linear response of luminol was in the range of 1 × 10⁻⁸ to 9 × 10⁻⁸ mol/L with the detection limit of 3 × 10⁻⁹ mol/L (S/N = 3). Since luminol is one of the most useful ECL probe, many bioactive compounds which can be labeled by luminol are able to be detected by using the proposed method.     

Enhanced electrochemical reduction of hydrogen peroxide on silver paste electrodes modified with surfactant and salt

The modification of silver paste electrodes with a combination of dodecylbenzenesulfonic acid and KCl has been shown to lead to significant enhancements of the electrochemical reduction of hydrogen peroxide. The catalytic enhancement was shown to be dependent on the concentration of the surfactant/salt solution, which resulted in increases of some 80-fold in amperometric response to hydrogen peroxide at −0.1 V vs Ag/AgCl, pH 6.8 over unmodified silver paste. Physical analysis showed modifications to both the surface morphology and chemical composition of the silver paste electrode surface. However, BET and electrochemical analysis revealed no significant change in surface area. It is suggested that the enhanced catalysis may result from the formation of stabilised surfactant/salt structures at the metal electrode surface. The electrode was also shown to be suitable for the amperometric detection of hydrogen peroxide with a limit of detection of 1.1 × 10⁻⁶ M (S/N = 3).     

The Preparation of BHb-Molecularly Imprinted Gel Polymers and Its Selectivity Comparison to BHb and BSA

Molecularly imprinted gel polymer (MIP) for the selective imprinting of bovine hemoglobin (BHb) was prepared in aqueous media by bulk polymerization using polyacrylamide matrix. The synthesis conditions of BHb-MIP were investigated, which involved the interaction of functional monomers and template protein in different molar ratio, solution pH, and ionic strength. The adsorption experiments indicated that BHb-MIP had a high affinity for BHb over the non-imprinted polymers. The selectivity of BHb-MIP for BHb and bovine serum albumin (BSA) with similar molecular weight was compared. It was demonstrated that BHb-MIP had better selective adsorption and recognition properties to BHb especially in the presence of BSA as competing protein. It might be helpful for selectively separating template protein with MIP from the proteins mixture with similar molecular weight.     

Microbial electrocatalysis with Geobacter sulfurreducens biofilm on stainless steel cathodes

Stainless steel and graphite electrodes were individually addressed and polarized at −0.60 V vs. Ag/AgCl in reactors filled with a growth medium that contained 25 mM fumarate as the electron acceptor and no electron donor, in order to force the microbial cells to use the electrode as electron source. When the reactor was inoculated with Geobacter sulfurreducens, the current increased and stabilized at average values around 0.75 A m⁻² for graphite and 20.5 A m⁻² for stainless steel. Cyclic voltammetry performed at the end of the experiment indicated that the reduction started at around −0.30 V vs. Ag/AgCl on stainless steel. Removing the biofilm formed on the electrode surface made the current totally disappear, confirming that the G.sulfurreducens biofilm was fully responsible for the electrocatalysis of fumarate reduction. Similar current densities were recorded when the electrodes were polarized after being kept in open circuit for several days. The reasons for the bacteria presence and survival on non-connected stainless steel coupons were discussed. Chronoamperometry experiments performed at different potential values suggested that the biofilm-driven catalysis was controlled by electrochemical kinetics. The high current density obtained, quite close to the redox potential of the fumarate/succinate couple, presents stainless steel as a remarkable material to support biocathodes.     

Synergic effect of benzotriazole and chloride ion on Cu passivation in a phosphate electrochemical mechanical planarization electrolyte

In this study, the effect of chloride ion (Cl⁻) in phosphate electrolytes of pH 2 containing benzotriazole (BTAH) developed for use in electrochemical mechanical planarization (ECMP) was investigated at various anodic potentials. According to D.C. and A.C. electrochemical analyses, the inhibition effect of the BTAH passive film formed in phosphate electrolyte containing both BTAH and Cl⁻ was superior to that formed in phosphate electrolytes containing BTAH alone, even at high anodic potential. The effective window for BTAH passivation reached ∼1.3 V vs. Ag/AgCl nearly three times that of the ∼0.5 V vs. Ag/AgCl recorded for electrolyte containing BTAH alone. According to analyses conducted by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and secondary ion mass spectrometer (SIMS), the thickness of the passive film grown from the BTAH-only electrolyte at 0.3 V vs. Ag/AgCl was ∼52 ± 7 nm and ∼55 nm, respectively. As for the passive film grown from the BTAH and Cl⁻ electrolyte, the thickness increased to ∼104 ± 18 nm and ∼106 nm, respectively. The mechanism for the enhanced inhibition capability was that the passive film grown from the BTAH and Cl⁻ electrolyte was thicker compared to that formed from the BTAH-only electrolyte due to the incorporation of Cl⁻ into the BTAH passive film. The ECMP polishing results also demonstrated an obvious step height reduction of ∼1000 nm in a patterned structure for only 60 s polishing at a high potential of 1.0 V vs. Ag/AgCl under a low downward pressure (∼0.5 psi). Subsequently, this study proposes that the control of Cl⁻ in a phosphate ECMP electrolyte of pH 2 may be useful in enhancing the passivation capability of BTAH passive film, thus expanding the operating potential window.     

Strategy for the syntheses of isolated fine silver nanoparticles and polypyrrole/silver nanocomposites on gold substrates

In this work, isolated fine silver nanoparticles and polypyrrole/silver nanocomposites with diameters of about 10 nm on gold substrates were first prepared by electrochemical methods. First, an Ag substrate was cycled in a deoxygenated aqueous solution containing 0.1 M HCl from −0.30 to +0.30 V versus Ag/AgCl at 5 mV/s with 30 scans. Subsequently the Ag working electrode was immediately replaced by an Au electrode and a cathodic overpotential of 0.2 V was applied under controlled sonication to synthesize Ag nanoparticles on the Au electrode. Then pyrrole monomers were encouragingly found to be polymerized on the deposited Ag nanoparticles. This polymerization is distinguishable from the known chemical or electrochemical one, due to the electrochemical activity of unreduced species of Ag_n⁺ clusters inside the nanoparticles. Also, this polymerization may be ascribed to the oxidizing agent of AuCl₄⁻, which is present on the Au electrode.     

Investigation on electrochemical reduction process of Nb2O5 powder in molten CaCl2 with metallic cavity electrode

The direct electrochemical reduction process of Nb₂O₅ powder was investigated by cyclic voltammetry and constant potential electrolysis with a novel metallic cavity electrode in molten calcium chloride at 850 °C. The products of both constant potential and constant voltage electrolysis were characterized by XRD, SEM and EDX. CaNb₂O₆ was formed upon addition of solid Nb₂O₅ into molten CaCl₂ when CaO was present. During the electrolysis solid Nb₂O₅ was reduced to various niobium oxides of lower oxidation states, including some composite oxides, and then was converted completely to metallic niobium near −0.35 V (vs. Ag/AgCl), which was more positive than the reduction potential of Ca²⁺. Constant potential electrolysis was applied at the potentials near the reduction current peaks derived from the cyclic voltammetry curves, and cell voltages were monitored. The voltage was near 2.4 V when the oxide was metallized at −0.35 V (vs. Ag/AgCl). Nb₂O₅ pellet could be used to prepared metallic niobium at cell voltage 2.4 V in a larger electrolysis bath filled with calcium chloride at 850 °C. The experiment results further demonstrated the direct electrochemical reduction mechanism of Nb₂O₅ powder in a molten system.     

Nanoflakes of the cobaltous oxide, CoO: Synthesis and characterization

Nanoflakes of the cobaltous oxide as a thin film were deposited from a 100 mM cobalt (II) nitrate solution potentiostatically at −1000 mV (vs. Ag/AgCl) onto a platinum electrode surface. Surface morphology of the cobaltous oxide was studied by surface microscopy techniques (SEM, AFM and STM) and the electrochemical behavior was evaluated in alkaline solution using cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Using cyclic voltammetry, the electron-transfer coefficient and the apparent charge-transfer rate constant of various redox transitions were determined. The cobaltous oxide electrode represented prominent electrocatalytic activity toward the mediated electrooxidation of ascorbic acid, glucose and methanol. In the Nyquist diagrams, different time constants appeared with relation to different physicochemical processes.     

Electrochemical oxidation of histidine at an anodic oxidized boron-doped diamond electrode in neutral solution

Electrochemical oxidation of histidine (His) at an anodic oxidized boron-doped diamond electrode (AOBDDE) was performed. A significant peak of His oxidation is observed at about +1.5 V vs. Ag/AgCl, however, the response current was inhibited due to strong His-oxidized product adsorption onto the electrode surface. The characteristics of the His-oxidized product adsorbed onto the electrode surface were investigated by studying the electrochemical behavior of the Fe(CN)₆⁴⁻ redox reaction using cycle voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Both CV and EIS results showed a decrease in the sum of transfer coefficients and an increase in the electron transfer resistance, which indicate that the adsorption film is a non-conductive film. The most possible active site locations for the AOBDDE for His oxidation are within these low-lying polycrystallite AOBDDE surface regions. The results from Raman and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy offer strong evidence of the imidazole ring reaction from His. Experiments confirmed that the adsorbed film can be removed and the electrode surface reactivated using brief polarization at +2.5 V.     

Electrochemical preparation of epinephrine/Nafion chemically modified electrodes and their electrocatalytic oxidation of ascorbic acid and dopamine

Two types of epinephrine and cyclized epinephrine quinone films have been prepared using cyclic voltammetry from the epinephrine in the strong acidic solutions and neutral aqueous solutions over different scanning potential ranges. The cyclic voltammogram of the epinephrine film is characterized by one redox couple at about +0.5 V (versus Ag|AgCl) and cyclized epinephrine quinone film exhibits one redox couples at about −0.15 V (versus Ag|AgCl) .In addition to cyclic voltammetry and an electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance (EQCM) were used to study the growth mechanism of the epinephrine and cyclized epinephrine quinone molecules. The electrocatalytic oxidation of catecholamines (dopamine and norepinephrine) and also ascorbic acid were investigated in acidic aqueous solutions using epinephrine films. The rotating ring-disk electrode technique was used to investigate the mechanism of electrochemical oxidation of dopamine and ascorbic acid.     

Two-dimensional condensation of pyrimidine oligonucleotides during their self-assemblies at mercury based surfaces

For the first time it is shown that homopyrimidine oligodeoxynucleotides (ODNs) adsorbed at mercury or amalgam electrode surface can condensate upon applying negative potentials (around −1.35 V vs. Ag/AgCl/3M KCl). This 2D condensation resulted in formation of capacitance pits on the C-E curves resembling those observed earlier with monomeric nucleic acid bases, nucleosides and nucleotides. Differences in behavior of the condensed layers of dT₃₀ and dC₃₀ ODNs, reflecting different physico-chemical and electrochemical properties of thymine and cytosine, were observed. Formation of the ODN condensed film involved reorientation of the oligonucleotide molecules firmly adsorbed at the electrode and took place even in the absence of any ODN in the bulk of solution. Homopurine ODNs did not form these two-dimensional (2D) condensed monolayers under the same conditions. A preliminary thermodynamic analysis of the condensed ODN layers is presented.     

Electrochemical study of chitosan films deposited from solution at reducing potentials

We report the electrochemical characterization of chitosan films deposited at gold electrodes from an acidic solution at reducing potentials. Cyclic voltammetry was used to characterize the deposition and electroactivity of chitosan coated gold electrodes. Chitosan films were found to deposit at gold electrodes at potentials more negative than −1.0 V versus Ag/AgCl, a potential associated with the onset of water reduction and increase in pH near the electrode. The chitosan films are electrochemically inactive; similar background charging currents are observed at bare gold and chitosan coated electrodes. The chitosan films are permeable to both cationic [Ru(NH₃)₆^3+/2+] and anionic [Fe(CN)₆^3−/4−] redox couples, but anionic complexes are retained in the chitosan film. Semiintegral analysis was used to examine adsorbed redox species at the chitosan coated electrode surface. Electrochemical parameters, including apparent diffusion coefficients for the redox probes at the electrodeposited chitosan modified electrodes are presented and are comparable to values reported for cast chitosan films.     

Synthesis of boron/nitrogen substituted carbons for aqueous asymmetric capacitors

Boron/nitrogen substituted carbons were synthesized by co-pyrolysis of polyborazylene/coal tar pitch blends to yield a carbon with a boron and nitrogen content of 14 at% and 10 at%, respectively. The presence of heteroatoms in these carbons shifted the hydrogen evolution overpotential to −1.4 V vs Ag/AgCl in aqueous electrolytes, providing a large electrochemical potential window (∼2.4 V) as well as a specific capacitance of 0.6 F/m². An asymmetric capacitor was fabricated using the as-prepared low surface area carbon as the negative electrode along with a redox active manganese dioxide as the positive electrode. The energy density of the capacitor exceeded 10 Wh/kg at a power density of 1 kW/kg and had a cycle life greater than 1000 cycles.     

Novel electrocatalyst for the oxygen reduction reaction in acidic media using electrochemically activated iron 2,6-bis(imino)-pyridyl complexes

Electrochemically activated materials produced from iron 2,6-bis(imino)-pyridyl complexes were deposited onto a glassy carbon electrode from an acetonitrile solution containing 0.1 mol dm⁻³ tetrabutylammonium perchlorate and 0.002 mol dm⁻³ monomeric iron chelate by successively scanning the potential between −0.6 and 0.8 V vs. the Ag/Ag⁺ reference electrode (RE). The electrocatalytic activity of the resultant material to the reduction of dioxygen molecules in aqueous sulfuric acid solution was studied by hydrodynamic voltammetry. It is found that although the material can dissolve in sulfuric acid solution, it is re-deposited on the electrode surface during cathodic polarization. The re-deposited material can efficiently catalyse the electrochemical reduction of molecular dioxygen through different pathways depending upon the structure of the ligands. The material produced from the iron chelate with 2,4,6-trimethylphenyl substituents allows only a two-electron reduction of dioxygen molecules, while the reduction of dioxygen on the material produced from the iron chelate with 2,6-biisopropylphenyl substituents follows the four-electron pathway to produce water. The latter material shows good stability and unusually high mass activity towards the oxygen reduction reaction in the acidic medium. Although the onset potential is quite low (−0.2 V vs. SCE), the material is a prospective candidate in power sources, oxygen sensors and some chemical processes. It is suggested that the active center for oxygen reduction is determined by the structure of the activated material.     

Using an electrode with renewable surface for study of silver reduction from acid thiourea solutions

Sulfur-containing thiourea (TU) decomposition products exert a considerable effect on the silver electroreduction rate in TU solutions. The technique of removing a thin layer from a metal electrode in-situ at a fixed electrode potential makes it possible to minimize the influence of adsorbed impurities on the rate of the process under study. The values of the exchange current and transfer coefficient for silver reduction from TU solutions have been determined using this technique. Impurities in acid TU solution substantially increase the reduction rate for potentials more positive than about −0.5 V vs. Ag/AgCl.     

碳毡负载Sn气体扩散电极CO2电化学还原性能

针对CO₂电化学还原中气体扩散电极可强化CO₂的传质,基于碳毡制备了负载锡-石墨烯催化层的新型气体扩散电极,研究了CO₂反应条件、电极厚度、催化剂载量及反应电位对CO₂电化学还原性能的影响。实验结果表明：与溶解态CO₂反应条件相比,采用气相CO₂反应条件电化学还原性能更好;一定范围内增加电极厚度和催化剂载量可以增加气-液-固三相反应界面,提升CO₂电化学还原性能;随着电解电位负移,甲酸产量增加,电流效率先增大后减小;实验中使用厚度为5 mm、载量为5 mg·cm^-2的电极,在-1.8 V（vs Ag/AgCl）条件下进行电化学还原时,平均电流密度为（12.79±1.27） mA·cm^-2,甲酸电流效率达到最佳为41.55%±2.50%。     

Enhanced Bio-Electrochemical Reduction of Carbon Dioxide by Using Neutral Red as a Redox Mediator

Microbial electrosynthetic cells containing Methylobacterium extorquens were studied for the reduction of CO₂ to formate by direct electron injection and redox mediator-assisted approaches, with CO₂ as the sole carbon source. The formation of a biofilm on a carbon felt (CF) electrode was achieved while applying a constant potential of −0.75 V versus Ag/AgCl under CO₂-saturated conditions. During the biofilm growth period, continuous H₂ evolution was observed. The long-term performance for CO₂ reduction of the biofilm with and without neutral red as a redox mediator was studied by an applied potential of −0.75 V versus Ag/AgCl. The neutral red was introduced into the systems in two different ways: homogeneous (dissolved in solution) and heterogeneous (electropolymerized onto the working electrode). The heterogeneous approach was investigated in the microbial system, for the first time, where the CF working electrode was coated with poly(neutral red) by the oxidative electropolymerization thereof. The formation of poly(neutral red) was characterized by spectroscopic techniques. During long-term electrolysis up to 17 weeks, the formation of formate was observed continuously with an average Faradaic efficiency of 4 %. With the contribution of neutral red, higher formate accumulation was observed. Moreover, the microbial electrosynthetic cell was characterized by means of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy to obtain more information on the CO₂ reduction mechanism.