Ultramicroelectrodes (UMEs) (limiting dimensions <~25 μm) and nanoelectrodes (<~100 nm) exhibit enhanced electrochemical properties compared to macroscopic electrodes. Their small sizes and enhanced properties make them well-suited for various interesting and important applications such as measuring redox-active species in nonaqueous solvents, studying intermediates of fast electrochemical reactions, and investigating electrochemical and electrocatalytic properties of single nanoparticles. While UMEs are commercially available, nanoelectrode fabrication is still largely confined to research labs. Various methods for constructing nanoelectrodes have been reported and continue to be developed, but most require considerable expertise, and comparisons between different fabrication processes are lacking. In this work, a comparison of laser-assisted pulling and chemical vapor deposition (CVD) methods of electrode fabrication is made with the aim of optimizing production of carbon nanoelectrodes for single nanoparticle electrochemical measurements. By examining effects of pulling parameters, post-pulling treatments, and CVD processing, electrodes as small as ~50 nm were successfully produced.
Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ETSU/oai:dc.etsu.edu:etd-4897 |
Date | 01 August 2018 |
Creators | Neequaye, Theophilus |
Publisher | Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University |
Source Sets | East Tennessee State University |
Language | English |
Detected Language | English |
Type | text |
Format | application/pdf |
Source | Electronic Theses and Dissertations |
Rights | Copyright by the authors. |
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