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Craig E Banks

Publications and source records attributed to Craig E Banks.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2007

Electrosynthesis of hydrogen peroxide via the reduction of oxygen assisted by power ultrasound.

The electrosynthesis of hydrogen peroxide using the oxygen reduction reaction has been studied in the absence and presence of power ultrasound in a non-optimized sono-electrochemical flow reactor (20 cm cathodic compartment length with 6.5 cm inner diameter) with reticulated vitreous glassy carbon electrode (30 x 40 x 10 mm, 10 ppi, 7 cm(2)cm(-3)) as the cathode. The effect of several electrochemical operational variables (pH, volumetric flow, potential) and of the sono-electrochemical parameters (ultrasound amplitude and horn-to-electrode distance) on the cumulative concentration of hydrogen peroxide and current efficiency of the electrosynthesis process have been explored. The application of power ultrasound was found to increase both the cumulative concentration of hydrogen peroxide and the current efficiency. The application of ultrasound is therefore a promising approach to the increased efficiency of production of hydrogen peroxide by electrosynthesis, even in the solutions of lower pH (<12). The results demonstrate the feasibility of at-site-of-use green synthesis of hydrogen peroxide.

Electrochemistry↗
PubMed2006

Edge plane sites on highly ordered pyrolytic graphite as templates for making palladium nanowires via electrochemical decoration.

An approach for the fabrication of metal nanowires is presented. Palladium wires with diameters less than 50 nm were produced by electrochemical decoration of step edge sites on the surface of highly ordered pyrolytic graphite via the following three steps. First an electrochemical activation step was used to oxidize the edge plane sites on highly ordered pyrolytic graphite surfaces in 0.5 M Na(2)SO(4). Second, a potential cycling step in a 1 mM PdCl(2) solution in 0.1 M H(2)SO(4) was used to form palladium oxide (s) and/or complexes of Pd on the step edges. Third, Pd nanowires were formed by electroreduction after transfer of the graphite to 0.1 M H(2)SO(4). The resulting wires showed a high degree of uniformity. A merit of this approach is that it allowed metal nanowires to be fabricated without the simultaneous formation of nanoparticles on the basal plane terraces, in contrast to other studies of this type. The mesoscopic palladium wires are shown to be useful for the electrochemical sensing of hydrazine.

Letter↗
PubMed2006

At point of use sono-electrochemical generation of hydrogen peroxide for chemical synthesis: the green oxidation of benzonitrile to benzamide.

At point of use generation of synthetically useful quantities of hydrogen peroxide in a non-optimized sono-electrochemical cell is reported. Proof-of-concept of the use of this procedure for green synthesis is given through the oxidation of benzonitrile to benzamide with yields similar to those obtained via bulk chemical synthesis.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2006

Oxygenated edge plane sites slow the electron transfer of the ferro-/ferricyanide redox couple at graphite electrodes.

The electron transfer kinetics of ferrocyanide, potassium hexachloroiridate(III), hexaammineruthenium(III) chloride, and N,N,N',N'-tetramethyl-p-phenylenediamine (TMPD) have been examined at basal plane and edge plane pyrolytic graphite electrodes which have been allowed to oxidise in air for various periods of time. It is demonstrated via voltammetric and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis that oxygenated species formed at edge plane sites/defects decrease the electron transfer kinetics of ferrocyanide but that the rates for potassium hexachloroiridate(III), hexaammineruthenium(III) chloride and TMPD are insensitive to the oxygenated species. The behaviour of the ferro-/ferricyanide couple contrasts with that seen on single-walled carbon nanotubes where oxygenation of the tube ends is known to speed up the electron transfer kinetics (A. Chou, T. Bocking, N. K. Singh, J. J. Gooding, Chem. Commun. 2005, 842); the possible reasons for this contrasting behaviour are discussed.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2006

Nano-electrochemical detection of hydrogen or protons using palladium nanoparticles: distinguishing surface and bulk hydrogen.

The benefits of using nanoparticle-modified electrodes are exemplified through the electrochemical detection of protons and/or hydrogen. It is shown that a palladium-nanoparticle-modified boron-doped diamond allows voltammetric information relating to the relative roles played by the surface and the bulk metal to be obtained for the proton-hydrogen system at palladium surfaces which is not accessible using palladium macroelectrodes or microelectrodes.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2006

Electrochemically polymerised composites of multi-walled carbon nanotubes and poly(vinylferrocene) and their use as modified electrodes: application to glucose sensing.

We report electrochemical composites of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) with poly(vinylferrocene) (PVF). The polymeric architecture is prepared by first immobilising the MWCNTs onto a glassy carbon substrate, which acts to introduce electrical current into the composite, with the MWCNTs acting as 'molecular wires'. PVF films of varying surface coverages can be obtained by simply controlling the time a constant potential of +0.7 V (vs. Ag) wire is applied; with the characteristics of the derivatised MWCNTs examined by cyclic voltammetry and scanning electron microscopy. The application of the composite for glucose determination in aqueous solutions was investigated using linear sweep voltammetry, where it was found that the composites supported on glassy carbon substrates are superior to bare glassy carbon electrodes polymerised with PVF, likely due to the comparatively higher number of electrocatalytic centres in the former. This protocol was successfully transferred to prepare a PVF-MWCNT-paste electrode which was applied to glucose detection in diluted laked horse blood. The obtained results show potential and promising practical application for the polymer-derivatised MWCNT-modified electrodes in amperometric sensors for glucose determination.

Biomarkers↗
PubMed2006

AFM studies of metal deposition: instantaneous nucleation and the growth of cobalt nanoparticles on boron-doped diamond electrodes.

In situ atomic force microscopy (AFM) is used to study the growth of cobalt nuclei on a boron doped diamond electrode under potentiostatic control. The rate of growth of the nuclei at the electrode surface is monitored using AFM as a function of time at different deposition potentials. The nucleation of cobalt nuclei is found to be "instantaneous" and the growth of the nuclei is shown to be kinetically rather than diffusionally controlled over periods of tens and hundreds of seconds. At very short times (<10 seconds) the kinetics of nucleation are apparent.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2006

The ammonia-free partial reduction of substituted pyridinium salts.

This paper reports a study into the partial reduction of N-alkylpyridinium salts together with subsequent elaboration of the intermediates thus produced. Activation of a pyridinium salt by placing an ester group at C-2, allows the addition of two electrons to give a synthetically versatile enolate intermediate which can be trapped with a variety of electrophiles. Furthermore, the presence of a 4-methoxy substituent on the pyridine nucleus enhances the stability of the enolate reaction products, and hydrolysis in situ gives stable dihydropyridone derivatives in good yields. These versatile compounds are prepared in just three steps from picolinic acid and can be derivatised at any position on the ring, including nitrogen when a p-methoxybenzyl group is used as the N-activating group on the pyridinium salt. This publication describes our exploration of the optimum reducing conditions, the most appropriate N-alkyl protecting group, as well as the best position on the ring for the methoxy group. Electrochemical techniques which mimic the synthetic reducing conditions are utilised and they give clear support for our proposed mechanism of reduction in which there is a stepwise addition of two electrons to the heterocycle, mediated by di-tert-butylbiphenyl (DBB). Moreover, there is a correlation between the viability of reduction of a given heterocycle under synthetic conditions and its electrochemical response; this offers the potential for use of electrochemistry in predicting the outcome of such reactions.

Ammonia↗
PubMed2006

Metal nanoparticles and related materials supported on carbon nanotubes: methods and applications.

Carbon nanotubes are one of the most intensively explored nanostructured materials. In particular, carbon nanotubes are unique and ideal templates onto which to immobilize nanoparticles allowing the construction of designed nanoarchitectures that are extremely attractive as supports for heterogeneous catalysts, for use in fuel cells, and in related technologies that exploit the inherent 'smallness' and hollow characteristics of the nanoparticles. Here we overview the recent developments in this area by exploring the various techniques in which nanotubes can be functionalized with metals and other nanoparticles and explore the diverse applications of the resulting materials.

Biosensing Techniques↗
PubMed2006

Iron oxide particles are the active sites for hydrogen peroxide sensing at multiwalled carbon nanotube modified electrodes.

We demonstrate that the "electrocatalytic" hydrogen peroxide detection reported at multiwalled carbon nanotube modified electrodes is due to iron oxide particles arising from the chemical vapor deposition nanotube fabrication process rather than due to intrinsic catalysis attributable to the carbon nanotubes arising, for example, from edge plane-like sites/defects.

Binding Sites↗
PubMed2006

New electrodes for old: from carbon nanotubes to edge plane pyrolytic graphite.

Different types of carbon based electrodes have emerged over the last few years, significantly changing the scope and sensitivity of electro-analytical methods for the measurement of diverse targets from metal ions through gases to biological markers. This Highlight article shows how the use of carbon nanotube modified electrodes has led to a fundamental understanding of the location and nature of electron transfer processes on graphitic electrodes and to the realisation that edge plane pyrolytic graphite may represent, at present, an optimal electrode material of this type for electroanalysis.

Carbon↗
PubMed2006

Gold ultra-microelectrode arrays: application to the steady-state voltammetry of hydroxide ion in aqueous solution.

Gold ultra-microelectrode arrays are used to explore the electrochemical oxidation of hydroxide ions and are shown to be analytical useful. Two types of ultra-microelectrode arrays are used; the first consist of 256 individual electrodes of 5 microm in radius, 170 of which are electrochemically active in a cubic arrangement which are separated from their nearest neighbour by a distance of 100 microm. The second array compromises 2597 electrodes of 2.5 microm in radius and of which 1550 of which are electrochemically active in a hexagonal arrangement separated by the nearest neighbour by 55 microm. Well defined voltammetric waves are found with peak currents proportional to the concentration of hydroxide ions in the range 50 microM to 1 mM. Detection limits of 20 microM using the 170 ultra-microelectrode and 10 microM with the 1550 ultra-microelectrode array are shown to be possible but with a higher sensitivity of 4 mA M(-1) observed using the 1550 ultra-microelectrode array compared to 1.2 mA M(-1) with the 170 ultra-microelectrode array.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2005

Regular arrays of microdisc electrodes: simulation quantifies the fraction of 'dead' electrodes.

Arrays of microdisc electrodes have found widespread use in electroanalysis. These are commonly produced lithographically and practical arrays may contain up to hundreds of individual disc electrodes (e.g. of gold, platinum, indium,...) to maximise sensitivity and minimise limits of detection. Typically, however, the lithographic fabrication process is imperfect resulting in a significant fraction (often tens of percent) of electrochemically inactive electrodes. We demonstrate that a 2-dimensional simulation based on the diffusion domain approximation in conjugation with simple experiments on the ferrocyanide redox couple in aqueous solutions can be used to rigorously 'count' the number of active electrodes in a non-destructive fashion. The agreement with an independent count in which active electrodes are identified via electro-plating with copper followed by ex situ microscopic examination is quantitatively excellent.

Calibration↗
PubMed2005

The electroanalytical detection of hydrazine: a comparison of the use of palladium nanoparticles supported on boron-doped diamond and palladium plated BDD microdisc array.

We show that both a random distribution of palladium nanoparticles supported on a BDD electrode or a palladium plated BDD microelectrode array can each provide a sensing platform for the electrocatalytic detection of hydrazine. The palladium nanoparticle modified electrode displays a sensitivity and limit of detection of 60 mA mol(-1) L and 2.6 microM respectively while the array has a sensitivity of 8 mA mol(-1) L with a detection limit of 1.8 microM. The beneficial cost implications of using palladium nano- or micro-particles in sensors compared to a palladium macroelectrode are evident. Interestingly the array of the nanoparticles shows similar sensitivity and limit of detection to the microelectrode array which probably indicates that the random distribution of the former leads to 'clumps' of nanoparticles that effectively act as microelectrodes.

Boron↗
PubMed2005

Indirect detection of substituted phenols and cannabis based on the electrochemical adaptation of the Gibbs reaction.

The voltammetric behaviour of 2,6-dichloro-p-aminophenol (PAP) in aqueous solution at an edge plane pyrolytic graphite electrode was explored and its sensitivity to additions of substituted phenols examined. Proof of concept is shown for the electrochemical adaptation of the Gibbs reaction, where reaction of the oxidised form of PAP with substituted phenols provides an indirect methodology for the analytical detection of these compounds. This indirect protocol provides an attractive alterative to the direct electrochemical oxidation of phenolic compounds, since the latter is plagued by electrode passivation, leading to low sensitivity. It is observed that phenol, 4-phenoxyphenol, methylphenol (para and meta), nitrophenol and most importantly, tetrahydrocannabinol, can be detected voltammetrically. Such a protocol is particularly attractive for roadside testing for cannabis in drug drivers.

Cannabis↗