The use of boron-doped diamond electrodes for the electrochemical oxidation of phenol

Boron-doped diamond electrodes prepared by both filament assisted and microwave assisted chemical vapor deposition were used to determine if phenol could be oxidized with out producing reaction products that foul the electrode. On the microwave assisted CVD samples cyclic voltammetry showed that phenol was oxidized and the diamond electrodes remained electroactive after multiple cycles. Samples prepared by filament assisted CVD showed good activity for the oxidation in the initial cyclic of phenol but in the second cycle was almost completely inactive.