EFFECT ON ELECTROCHEMISTRY OF HEXACYANOFERRATE AT CARBON-FIBERS AFTERPRETREATMENT WITH TITANIUM CHLORIDE

A simple and fast method for carbon fiber activation is proposed to im prove the electrochemical activity of electrodes made of carbon fibers . A layer of titanium (IV) oxide was coated on the carbon fiber surfac e, using titanium tetrachloride dissolved in carbon tetrachloride. The fibers were treated for 1 h at room temperature followed by hydrolyza tion of the remaining chloride and finally dried. The electrochemical activity was evaluated by means of cyclic voltammetry. The titanium ox ide layer dispersed onto the fiber surface was very stable and a large improvement in the electrochemical response was observed. The electro chemical response obtained for hexacyanoferrate was similar to that ob served for reversible systems. The reproducibility of the proposed met hod was very good and no significant change in the electrochemical res ponse was observed between equally prepared carbon fibers. (C) 1998 El sevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.