Controllable zeolite films on electrodes - comparing dc voltage electrophoretic deposition and a novel pulsed voltage method

We report here a novel application of pulsed voltage electrophoretic deposition (EPD) of zeolite 13X particles on glassy carbon surfaces. Our initial studies employing dc voltage EPD indicated that while adjustments of solution parameters (pH, supporting electrolyte concentration) and other experimental parameters (dc voltage, deposition time) allowed control of the amount of zeolite coated (from sub-monolayer to multilayer), difficulties of surface deactivation, controllability, uniformity, and reproducibility occurred under conditions suitable for the various films. These difficulties can be alleviated by utilizing a pulsed voltage program for EPD, an approach which has not been previously used for the fabrication of zeolite modified electrodes. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.