The modification of glassy carbon and gold electrodes with aryl diazonium salt: The impact of the electrode materials on the rate of heterogeneous electron transfer

Guozhen Liu, Jingquan Liu, Till Böcking, Paul K. Eggers, J. Justin Gooding*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

187 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The heterogeneous electron-transfer properties of ferrocenemethylamine coupled to a series of mixed 4-carboxyphenyl/phenyl monolayers on glassy carbon (GC) and gold electrodes were investigated, by cyclic voltammetry, in aqueous buffer solutions. The electrodes were derivatized in a step-wise process. Electrochemical reduction of mixtures of 4-carboxyphenyl and phenyl diazonium salts on the electrode surfaces yielded stable monolayers. The introduction of carboxylic acid moieties onto the surfaces was verified by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Subsequently the 4-carboxyphenyl moieties were activated using water-soluble carbodiimide and N-hydroxysuccinimide and reacted with ferrocenemethylamine. The rate constants of electron transfer through the monolayer systems were determined from cyclic voltammograms using the Marcus theory for electron transfer and were found to be an order of magnitude higher for the ferrocene-modified monolayer systems on gold than those on GC electrodes. The results suggest the electrode material has an important influence on the rate of electron transfer.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)136-146
Number of pages11
JournalChemical Physics
Volume319
Issue number1-3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 7 Dec 2005
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Carbon
  • Diazonium salts
  • Electron transfer
  • Gold
  • Self-assembled monolayers

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