Electrochemical behavior of synthetic boron-doped diamond thin film anodes

We investigate the electrochemical behavior of some model organic compounds on boron-doped synthetic diamond thin film electrodes, obtained by HF CVD on p-Si substrate. The obtained results have shown that only reactions invo lving simple electron transfer like hydroquinone/benzoquinone are active in the potential region of the supporting electrolyte stability, although thi s system is irreversible on diamond electrodes. For oxidation reactions wit h more complex mechanism, diamond electrodes show no electrocatalytic activ ity in the potential region of the supporting electrolyte stability. These complex oxidation reactions can take place on diamond electrodes in the pot ential region of the supporting electrolyte decomposition. The reactivity o f some alcohols and carboxylic acids is studied by cyclic voltammetry. Isop ropanol in 1 M H2SO4 is oxidized on diamond anode at a constant current den sity and the intermediates formed are analyzed by HPLC. Finally, a simplifi ed mechanism for the oxidation of organics by electrogenerated OH. radicals on diamond is proposed.