Fabrication of polycrystalline phosphorus-doped diamond electrodes from red phosphorus.

Polycrystalline phosphorus-doped diamond was fabricated by the quartz-tube-type microwave plasma-assisted chemical vapor deposition method. Significantly, red phosphorus was used as a source of phosphorous, instead of PH3. Phosphorus-doped diamond electrodes with hydrogen-terminated and oxygen-terminated surfaces were investigated for the redox reactions of K3[Fe(CN)6] and [Ru(NH3)6]Cl3. The carrier concentration was estimated as 2.1-5.3 × 1018 cm-3 from electrochemical impedance measurements. Polycrystalline phosphorus-doped diamond shows great promise as chemical electrode materials.

Simultaneous electrochemical detection of ozone and free chlorine with a boron-doped diamond electrode.

O3 and free chlorine play significant roles in disinfection and organic degradation. There are numerous reports about their mixed-use, yet detection of the residual concentrations is not easily accomplished, whilst the interactions between them remain unclear. Herein, we develop a detection method using a boron-doped diamond (BDD) electrode to achieve the simultaneous determination of O3 and free chlorine, which benefits from the unique property of the wide potential window of BDD electrodes. It is indicated that O3 can always be accurately determined at 0.35 V vs. Ag/AgCl in an acidic solution (pH = 4-5), whether or not free chlorine is present in the solution, whereas free chlorine can be precisely monitored at -0.78 V vs. Ag/AgCl only after the O3 is completely depleted. Furthermore, in a basic solution (pH = 9-10), the reduction peak of O3 at 0.57 V vs. Ag/AgCl promptly disappears accompanied by a decrease in the peak current of free chlorine at 1.41 V. All the phenomena observed in the acidic and basic solutions are concurrently confirmed in a quasi-neutral solution. Based on these complementary measurements, a mechanism is proposed, in which the O3 reduction results in partial oxidation of the BDD surface, hindering the reduction of free chlorine in the acidic mixture; whereas O3 reacts quickly with free chlorine in the basic solution, which causes the co-consumption of both of them. It is hoped these results will give us a guide as to how better utilize mixtures and more precisely simultaneously determine O3 and free chlorine in the mixture.

Blood Oxygen Sensor Using a Boron-Doped Diamond Electrode.

The electrochemical behavior of oxygen (O2) in blood was studied using boron-doped diamond (BDD) electrodes. Cyclic voltammogram of O2 in a 0.1 M phosphate buffer solution solution containing 1 × 10-6 M of bovine hemoglobin exhibits a reduction peak at -1.4 V (vs Ag/AgCl). Moreover, the scan rate dependence was investigated to study the reduction reaction mechanism, which was attributable to the reduction of O2 to H2O2 via two electrons. A linear calibration curve was observed in the concentration range of 86.88-314.63 mg L-1 (R2 = 0.99) with a detection limit of 1.0 mg L-1 (S/B = 3). The analytical performance was better than those with glassy carbon or platinum electrodes as the working electrode. In addition, an application to bovine blood was performed. The O2 concentration in the blood measured on the BDD electrodes was compared to that measured using an OxyLite Pro fiber-optic oxygen sensor device. Both methods gave similar values of the O2 concentration in the range of ∼40 to 150 mmHg. This result confirms that BDD electrodes could potentially be used to detect the O2 concentration in blood.

Switchable Product Selectivity in the Electrochemical Reduction of Carbon Dioxide Using Boron-Doped Diamond Electrodes.

The main product obtained by electrochemical reduction of CO2 depends on the electrode material, and in many cases the Faradaic efficiency for this is determined by the electrolyte. Only a few investigations in which attempts to produce different products from the same electrode material have been done so far. In this work, we focus on boron-doped diamond (BDD) electrodes with which plentiful amounts of formic acid and small amounts of carbon monoxide have been produced. By optimizing certain parameters and conditions used in the electrochemical process with BDD electrodes, such as the electrolyte, the boron concentration of the BDD electrode, and the applied potential, we were able to control the selectivity and efficiency with which carbon monoxide is produced. On one hand, with a BDD electrode with 1% boron used for the cathode and KClO4 for the catholyte, the selectivity for producing carbon monoxide was high. On the other hand, with a BDD electrode with 0.1% boron used for the cathode and KCl for the catholyte, the production of formic acid was the most evident. In situ attenuated total reflectance-infrared (ATR-IR) measurements during electrolysis showed that CO2•- intermediates were adsorbed on the BDD surface in the KClO4 aqueous solution. Here, switchable product selectivity was achieved when reducing CO2 using BDD electrodes.