Optically Transparent Carbon Nanotube Film Electrode for Thin Layer Spectroelectrochemistry
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Abstract
Carbon
nanotube (CNT) film was evaluated as an optically transparent
electrode (OTE) for thin layer spectroelectrochemistry. Chemically
inert CNT arrays were synthesized by chemical vapor deposition (CVD)
using thin films of Fe and Co as catalysts. Vertically aligned CNT
arrays were drawn onto a quartz slide to form CNT films that constituted
the OTE. Adequate conductivity and transparency make this material
a good OTE for spectroelectrochemistry. These properties could be
varied by the number of layers of CNTs used to form the OTE. Detection
in the UV/near UV region down to 200 nm can be achieved using these
transparent CNT films on quartz. The OTE was characterized by transmission
electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy,
UV–visible spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical
impedance spectroscopy, and thin layer spectroelectrochemistry. Ferricyanide,
tris(2,2′-bipyridine) ruthenium(II) chloride, and cytochrome
c were used as representative redox probes for thin layer spectroelectrochemistry
using the CNT film OTE, and the results correlated well with their
known properties. Direct electron transfer of cytochrome c was achieved
on the CNT film electrode