Stoichiometry, Morphology, and Size-Controlled Electrochemical Fabrication of CuxO (x = 1, 2) at Underpotential.

A new one-step electrochemical approach has been developed for the morphology, size, and stoichiometry-controlled synthesis of Cu2O, CuO, and Cu2O/CuO composite structures at room temperature without using surfactants, capping agents, or any other additives. The electrochemical deposition of a Cu monolayer using underpotential deposition (UPD) and the flow rate of oxygen gas bubbled through the deposition solution used for oxidation of the Cu layer are the key parameters for controlling the stoichiometry of the CuxO (x = 1, 2) structures. The morphologies, crystallinity, stoichiometries, optical properties, and photoelectrochemical properties of the as-electrodeposited Cu2O and CuO materials were analyzed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), UV-vis absorption, and photoelectrochemical (PEC) techniques. The results indicated that the Cu2O and CuO materials electrodeposited on both indium tin oxide coated (ITO) quartz and gold electrodes using this new electrochemical technique exhibit high-quality single crystalline structures and high photoactivity with rapid photoelectrical response to light irradiation.

Design and Optimization of a New Voltammetric Method for Determination of Isoniazid by Using PEDOT Modified Gold Electrode in Pharmaceuticls.

Isoniazid (INH) was studied with regard to its electrochemical treatment on a strongly alkaline solution of a poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-modified gold electrode, using both cyclic voltammetric and controlled potential techniques. Electrocatalytic performance measurements of this composite electrode toward oxidation of INH exhibited an increase of 4-folds in oxidation peak densities compared to the bare gold electrode. Central composite design method was used to obtain optimum experimental conditions, and used critical parameters (pH (A), scan rate (mV/s, B) and temperature (C, C) to assess the effects on amperometric response. Optimum experimental conditions were achieved by using a pH of 9.2 with a scan rate of 260 mV/s and a temperature of 30 C. Under these circumstances, a good linear relationship was observed between peak current densities and INH concentration in the range of 0.05-2 µM, with correlation coefficient of 0.9998. Furthermore, the method was very sensitive (limit of quantitation, 0.0043 µM), accurate (relative error, -5.65 to 4.03) and precise (relative standard deviation %, ≤ 7.97). The method was also applied to determine INH in pharmaceutical formulations, and statistically compared the results with the official method using the two one-sided equivalence test; the results were in good agreement with those obtained by the official and reported methods.

Electrochemically induced atom-by-atom growth of ZnS thin films: a new approach for ZnS co-deposition.

Ultrathin films of ZnS were grown on Au (111) substrates using a novel, simple co-deposition method and characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and UV-visible spectroscopy. Cyclic voltammograms were used to determine approximate deposition potentials for co-deposition. XRD shows that the material growth is highly preferential with (111) orientation. Both AFM and XRD data indicate that the ZnS growth mechanism starts by the formation of rounded nanoparticles at the surface and then continues by lateral and vertical growth to form flat square crystallites of ZnS. UV-vis spectra taken for the ZnS thin films with various thicknesses, which is related to deposition time, shows that the band gap of the ZnS decreases as the film thickness increases.