Versatile DIY Route for Incorporation of a Wide Range of Electrode Materials into Rotating Ring Disk Electrodes

Rotating ring disk electrodes (RRDEs) are a powerful and versatile tool for mechanistically investigating electrochemical reactions at electrode surfaces, particularly in the area of electroanalysis and catalysis. Despite their importance, only limited electrode materials (typically glassy carbon, platinum, and gold) and combinations thereof are available commercially. In this work, we present a method employing three-dimensional (3D) printing in conjunction with machined brass components to produce housing, which can accommodate any electrode material in, e.g., pressed powdered pellet, wafer, rod, foil, or vapor deposited onto a conductive substrate form. In this way, the range and usability of RRDEs is extended. This custom do-it-yourself (DIY) approach to fabricating RRDEs also enables RRDEs to be produced at a significant fraction of the cost of commercial RRDEs. To illustrate the versatility of our approach, coplanar boron-doped diamond (BDD) RRDEs are fabricated for the first time using the approach described. Experimental collection efficiencies for the redox couple FcTMA+/FcTMA2+ are found to be very close to those predicted theoretically. BDD electrodes serve as an ideal electrocatalyst support due to their low background currents, wide solvent potential window in aqueous solution, and chemical and electrochemical stability in acid and alkali solutions. The BDD RRDE configuration is employed to investigate the importance of surface-incorporated nondiamond carbon in BDD on hydrogen peroxide generation via the oxygen reduction reaction in acid solutions.

[1]  Lishi Wang,et al.  Defined Ion-Transfer Voltammetry of a Single Microdroplet at a Polarized Liquid/Liquid Interface. , 2022, Analytical chemistry.

[2]  M. Koper,et al.  Interfacial pH measurements using a Rotating Ring‐Disc Electrode with a voltammetric pH sensor , 2021, ChemElectroChem.

[3]  Gabriele Meloni,et al.  A Scientist's Guide to Buying a 3D Printer: How to Choose the Right Printer for Your Laboratory. , 2020, Analytical chemistry.

[4]  P. Fornasiero,et al.  Fast Screening Method for Nitrogen Reduction Reaction (NRR) Electrocatalytic Activity with Rotating Ring‐Disc Electrode (RRDE) Analysis in Alkaline Environment , 2020 .

[5]  A. Co,et al.  Rapid Product Analysis for the Electroreduction of CO2 on Heterogeneous and Homogeneous Catalysts Using a Rotating Ring Detector , 2020, Journal of The Electrochemical Society.

[6]  R. Beanland,et al.  Assessment of acid and thermal oxidation treatments for removing sp2 bonded carbon from the surface of boron doped diamond , 2020, Carbon.

[7]  J. Vos,et al.  Examination and prevention of ring collection failure during gas-evolving reactions on a rotating ring-disk electrode , 2019, Journal of Electroanalytical Chemistry.

[8]  A. Bond,et al.  Impact of sp2 Carbon Edge Effects on the Electron-Transfer Kinetics of the Ferrocene/Ferricenium Process at a Boron-Doped Diamond Electrode in an Ionic Liquid , 2019, The Journal of Physical Chemistry C.

[9]  J. Macpherson,et al.  Enhancing Square Wave Voltammetry Measurements via Electrochemical Analysis of the Non-Faradaic Potential Window. , 2019, Analytical chemistry.

[10]  J. Macpherson,et al.  An sp2 Patterned Boron Doped Diamond Electrode for the Simultaneous Detection of Dissolved Oxygen and pH. , 2019, ACS sensors.

[11]  J. Macpherson,et al.  Boron Doped Diamond: A Designer Electrode Material for the Twenty-First Century. , 2018, Annual review of analytical chemistry.

[12]  Ib Chorkendorff,et al.  Toward the Decentralized Electrochemical Production of H2O2: A Focus on the Catalysis , 2018 .

[13]  R. Schlögl,et al.  Electrochemical corrosion of a glassy carbon electrode , 2017 .

[14]  J. Macpherson,et al.  Quinone electrochemistry for the comparative assessment of sp2 surface content of boron doped diamond electrodes , 2016 .

[15]  J. Macpherson,et al.  Controlled sp(2) Functionalization of Boron Doped Diamond as a Route for the Fabrication of Robust and Nernstian pH Electrodes. , 2016, Analytical chemistry.

[16]  J. Macpherson,et al.  A practical guide to using boron doped diamond in electrochemical research. , 2015, Physical chemistry chemical physics : PCCP.

[17]  Jiujun Zhang,et al.  Rotating Ring-Disk Electrode Method , 2014 .

[18]  Jiujun Zhang,et al.  Applications of RDE and RRDE Methods in Oxygen Reduction Reaction , 2014 .

[19]  Eleni Bitziou,et al.  Examination of the factors affecting the electrochemical performance of oxygen-terminated polycrystalline boron-doped diamond electrodes. , 2013, Analytical chemistry.

[20]  A. Bard,et al.  Boron doped diamond ultramicroelectrodes: a generic platform for sensing single nanoparticle electrocatalytic collisions. , 2013, Chemical communications.

[21]  P. Unwin,et al.  Electrochemical mapping reveals direct correlation between heterogeneous electron-transfer kinetics and local density of states in diamond electrodes. , 2012, Angewandte Chemie.

[22]  A. Star,et al.  Electrochemical Detection with Platinum Decorated Carbon Nanomaterials , 2011 .

[23]  Shaojun Dong,et al.  Platinum nanoparticle ensemble-on-graphene hybrid nanosheet: one-pot, rapid synthesis, and used as new electrode material for electrochemical sensing. , 2010, ACS nano.

[24]  P. Unwin,et al.  Amperometric oxygen sensor based on a platinum nanoparticle-modified polycrystalline boron doped diamond disk electrode. , 2009, Analytical chemistry.

[25]  Ruizhi Yang,et al.  Impact of Loading in RRDE Experiments on Fe-N-C Catalysts: Two- or Four-Electron Oxygen Reduction? , 2008 .

[26]  Zhijun Yan,et al.  Characteristics of Au/Ti/p‐diamond ohmic contacts prepared by r.f. sputtering , 2001 .

[27]  H. Gasteiger,et al.  Oxygen reduction on platinum low-index single-crystal surfaces in sulfuric acid solution. Rotating ring - Pt(hkl) disk studies , 1995 .

[28]  C. Tobias,et al.  In-situ measurement of interfacial pH using a rotating ring-disk electrode , 1993 .

[29]  E. Yeager.  Dioxygen electrocatalysis: mechanisms in relation to catalyst structure , 1986 .

[30]  Ernest Yeager,et al.  Electrocatalysts for O2 reduction , 1984 .

[31]  W. Kennedy,et al.  Rotating ring‐disc electrode with a removable disc , 1983 .

[32]  B. Miller,et al.  Rotating Ring‐ and Split Ring‐Disk Electrodes with Interchangeable Disks , 1981 .