Electrochemical properties of undoped CVD diamond films

The electrochemical properties of undoped diamond polycrystalline films grown on tungsten wire substrates using methanol as a precursor are described. The diamond film quality was changed by introducing sp(2)-bonded non-diamond carbon impurity through adjustment of the methanol-to-hydrogen (C/H) source gas ratio used for diamond growth. The electrodes were characterized by Raman spectroscopy, scanning electronic microscopy (SEM) and cyclic voltammetry (CV). Diamond coated tungsten wires were then used as a working electrode to ascertain their electrochemical behavior in electrolytic medium. Electrochemical windows of these films were found to be suitable in the potential range of [-2.5 V, +2.2 V] vs. Ag/AgCl in acid medium (0.1 M KCI). The electrochemical behavior was evaluated also using the Fe(CN)(6)(3-/4-) redox couple. The results demonstrate that the grain boundaries and sp(2)-hybridized carbon impurity can have a significant influence on electrochemical window of undoped diamond electrodes. It was observed that with increasing sp(2) carbon impurity concentration the electrochemical window decreases. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.