Spectroelectrochemical responsiveness of a freestanding, boron-doped diamond, optically transparent electrode toward ferrocene

The spectroelectrochemical responsiveness of an optically transparent diamond electrode (OTE) toward ferrocene was investigated. A freestanding, mechanically polished, boron-doped diamond disk (0.38mm thick and 8mm in diameter) served as the OTE for UV-Vis transmission spectroelectrochemical measurements. A specially designed, thin-layer spectroelectrochemical cell was constructed for the measurements in which ferrocene was electrooxidized to ferricinium ion via a one-electron redox reaction. The oxidation reaction product was spectroscopically monitored in the ultraviolet (λ=252, 285nm) region of the electromagnetic spectrum. Well-defined and highly stable spectroelectrochemical responses were observed for this type of diamond OTE. The results indicate that diamond is a useful OTE material for spectroelectrochemically studying nonaqueous redox reactions.