Application of N- and B-doped CVD diamond layers for cyclic voltammetry measurements

Abstract Conductive polycrystalline diamond layers prepared by the CVD process have received attention from electrochemists owing to such superior electrochemical properties as the wide potential window, the very low background current, the stability of chemical and physical properties. In this paper, the cyclic voltammetry application using N- and B-doped diamond electrodes was studied. Diamond layers, doped with boron and nitrogen, were synthesized on a silicon substrate in a hot-filament CVD reactor. The obtained diamond layers were characterized using Raman spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The electrochemical properties of diamond layers were measured in KCl and NaCl basic solutions to gain knowledge about their potential application as an electrode material. It was found that boron doped diamond electrodes showed potential windows up to about 7 V which were almost twice wider than those observed for conventional Pt electrodes.