Gold electrodes from recordable CDs

Gold electrodes are widely used in electrochemistry and electroanalytical c hemistry. The notable performance when used in stripping analysis of many i onic species and the extraordinary affinity of thio compounds for its surfa ce make these electrodes very suitable for many applications. This paper re ports a simple and novel way to construct gold electrodes (CDtrodes) using recordable CDs as the gold source. The nanometer thickness of the gold laye r of recordable disks (50-100 mm) favors the construction of band nanoelect rodes with areas as small as 10(-6) cm(2). The plane surface can be easily used for the construction of conventional-sized gold electrodes for batch o r now injection analysis or even to obtain electrodes as large as 100 cm(2) . The low price of commercial recordable CDs allows a "one way use". The ev aluation and applicability of these electrodes in the form of nanoelectrode s, in batch and associated with flow cells, are illustrated in this paper.