Determination of Low Concentrations of Mercury Based on the Electrodeposition Time.

Soil plays a crucial role in human health through its impact on food and habitation. However, it often contains toxic heavy metals, with mercury being particularly hazardous when methylated. Currently, high-sensitivity, rapid detection of mercury is achievable only through electrochemical measurements. These measurements require pretreatment of the soil sample and the preparation of a calibration curve tailored to the sample's condition. In this study, we developed a method to determine the environmental standard value of mercury content in soil by significantly reducing the pretreatment process. Our approach involves analyzing current peaks from electrodeposition times using specific electrodes and solvent settings. This method demonstrates low error rates under low concentration conditions and can detect mercury levels as low as 0.5 ppb in soil leachate and reagent dilution series. This research facilitates the determination of low mercury concentrations in solutions containing various soil micro-compounds without the need for calibration curves.

Sluggish Electron Transfer of Oxygen-Terminated Moderately Boron-Doped Diamond Electrode Induced by Large Interfacial Capacitance between a Diamond and Silicon Interface.

Boron-doped diamond (BDD) has tremendous potential for use as an electrode material with outstanding characteristics. The substrate material of BDD can affect the electrochemical properties of BDD electrodes due to the different junction structures of BDD and the substrate materials. However, the BDD/substrate interfacial properties have not been clarified. In this study, the electrochemical behavior of BDD electrodes with different boron-doping levels (0.1% and 1.0% B/C ratios) synthesized on Si, W, Nb, and Mo substrates was investigated. Potential band diagrams of the BDD/substrate interface were proposed to explain different junction structures and electrochemical behaviors. Oxygen-terminated BDD with moderate boron-doping levels exhibited sluggish electron transfer induced by the large capacitance generated at the BDD/Si interface. These findings provide a fundamental understanding of diamond electrochemistry and insight into the selection of suitable substrate materials for practical applications of BDD electrodes.

Quantification of caffeine in coffee cans using electrochemical measurements, machine learning, and boron-doped diamond electrodes.

Electrochemical measurements, which exhibit high accuracy and sensitivity under low contamination, controlled electrolyte concentration, and pH conditions, have been used in determining various compounds. The electrochemical quantification capability decreases with an increase in the complexity of the measurement object. Therefore, solvent pretreatment and electrolyte addition are crucial in performing electrochemical measurements of specific compounds directly from beverages owing to the poor measurement quality caused by unspecified noise signals from foreign substances and unstable electrolyte concentrations. To prevent such signal disturbances from affecting quantitative analysis, spectral data of voltage-current values from electrochemical measurements must be used for principal component analysis (PCA). Moreover, this method enables highly accurate quantification even though numerical data alone are challenging to analyze. This study utilized boron-doped diamond (BDD) single-chip electrochemical detection to quantify caffeine content in commercial beverages without dilution. By applying PCA, we integrated electrochemical signals with known caffeine contents and subsequently utilized principal component regression to predict the caffeine content in unknown beverages. Consequently, we addressed existing research problems, such as the high quantification cost and the long measurement time required to obtain results after quantification. The average prediction accuracy was 93.8% compared to the actual content values. Electrochemical measurements are helpful in medical care and indirectly support our lives.

High-Density and Monodisperse Electrochemical Gold Nanoparticle Synthesis Utilizing the Properties of Boron-Doped Diamond Electrodes.

Owing to its simplicity and sensitivity, electrochemical analysis is of high significance in the detection of pollutants and highly toxic substances in the environment. In electrochemical analysis, the sensitivity of the sensor and reliability of the obtained signal are especially dependent on the electrode characteristics. Electrodes with a high density of nanomaterials, which exhibit excellent activity, are useful as sensor substrates for pollutant detection. However, the effective placement of high-density nanomaterials requires a high degree of control over the particle size, particle shape, and distance between the particles on the substrate. In this study, we exploited the properties of boron-doped diamond (BDD) electrodes, which have a wide potential window, and succeeded in coating a highly dense layer of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) at high potential. The AuNP-modified BDD (AuNP-BDD) electrodes comprising less than 100 nm AuNPs at a density of 125 particles/µm were electrochemically synthesized over a short period of 30-60 s. The AuNP-BDD electrodes were applied for detecting arsenic, which is one of the most abundant elements, and exhibited a limit of detection of 0.473 ppb in solution.

Laser-Induced Phosphorus-Doped Conductive Layer Formation on Single-Crystal Diamond Surfaces.

A laser-induced doping method was employed to incorporate phosphorus into an insulating monocrystalline diamond at ambient temperature and pressure conditions. Pulsed laser beams with nanosecond duration (20 ns) were irradiated on the diamond substrate immersed in a phosphoric acid liquid, in turns, and a thin conductive layer was formed on its surface. Phosphorus incorporation in the depth range of 40-50 nm below the irradiated surface was confirmed by secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS). Electrically, the irradiated areas exhibited ohmic contacts even with tungsten prober heads at room temperature, where the electrical resistivity of irradiated areas was greatly decreased compared to the original surface. The temperature dependence of the electrical conductivity implies that the surface layer is semiconducting with activation energies ranging between 0.2 eV and 54 meV depending on irradiation conditions. Since after laser treatment no carbon or graphitic phases other than diamond is found (the D and G Raman peaks are barely observed), the incorporation of phosphorus is the main origin of the enhanced conductivity. It was demonstrated that the proposed technique is applicable to diamond as a new ex situ doping method for introducing impurities into a solid in a precise and well-controlled manner, especially with electronic technology targeting of smaller devices and shallower junctions.

Temperature Dependence of Alternating Current Impedance in n-Type Si/B-Doped p-Type Ultrananocrystalline Diamond Heterojunctions Produced Through Pulsed Laser Deposition.

In the present research, heterojunctions comprised of n-type Si wafer substrates and B-doped p-type ultrananocrystalline diamond/hydrogenated amorphous carbon composite films were produced successfully by using pulsed laser deposition. Their alternating current impedance characteristics, under various frequencies, were measured and studied as a function of temperature in the range 200 to 400 K. Both the real (Z') and imaginary (Z″) parts of the complex impedance were temperature dependent. It was apparent that the Z″-Z' curve for all temperatures exhibited single semicircles. The center of these semicircles was below the Z' axis. With temperature increment, the diameter of the semicircles decreased. The characteristics of the semicircular curve indicated that the parallel resistance (Rp) and constant phase element (CPE) in parallel combination with the series resistance (Rs) should be appropriate for the equivalent electrical circuit model for the produced heterojunctions. Through simulation, the value of Rs at 200 K was found to be 5.04×10³ Ω, and fell to 252.05 Ω at 400 K. Also, the value of Rp was 1.34×107 Ω at 200 K and decreased to 3.37×105 Ω at 400 K. Moreover, the value of CPE at 200 K was 95.91×10-12 F with a deviation from the standard (n) value of 0.90 and rose slightly to 115.60×10-12 F with an n value of 0.98 at 400 K.

C-V-f, G-V-f and Z″-Z' Characteristics of n-Type Si/B-Doped p-Type Ultrananocrystalline Diamond Heterojunctions Formed via Pulsed Laser Deposition.

n-Type Si/p-type B-doped ultrananocrystalline diamond heterojunction photodiodes were built using pulsed laser deposition at a heated substrate temperature of 550 °C. Following the capacitance-voltage-frequency (C-V -f) and conductance-voltage-frequency (G-V -f) plots, the series resistance (Rs) values at zero bias voltage were 154.41 Ω at 2 MHz and 1.72 kΩ at 40 kHz. Rs should be ascribed to Rs occurring in the metallic contact and the bulk resistance in the active layer. At 40 kHz, the interface state density (nss) was 1.78 x 1013 eV-1 cm-2 and dropped exponentially to 1.39 x 1012 eV-1 cm-2 at 2 MHz. An assessed nss occurring at the heterojunction interface was the cause of deterioration in the photo-detection properties. At different V values, the appearance of the real (Z') and imaginary (Z'') characteristic curves revealed single semicircles whose centers lay below the Z' axis. The magnitude of the curve was diminished with the increment of V. The particularities of Z''-Z' plots can be identified as an equivalent circuit model. The appropriate model included Rs, which was combined with the parallel circuit of resistance and constant phase element.

Diode Parameters of Heterojunctions Comprising p-Type Ultrananocrystalline Diamond Films and n-Type Si Substrates.

In the current research, heterojunctions comprising p-type ultrananocrystalline diamond/hydrogenated amorphous carbon composite (UNCD/a-C:H) films and n-type Si substrates were formed via pulsed laser deposition. To extract their junction parameters via thermionic emission (TE) theory and Norde model, the measurement of dark current density-voltage curves was carried out under various temperatures ranging from 300 to 60 K. Through TE theory, the ideality factor values at 300 K and 60 K were 2.70 and 8.66, respectively. This justified that a heavy recombination process occurs at the junction interface in addition to another tunneling process at 300 K. The tunneling process is predominant at low temperatures. The barrier height values were 0.78 eV and 0.18 eV at 300 K and 60 K, respectively. The values for series resistance (Rs) calculated via Norde model at 300 K and 60 K were 275.24 Ω and 78.66 kΩ, respectively. The increment of Rs at low temperatures was likely due to the decrease of carrier concentration in the B-doped UNCD/a-C:H films when temperature was decreased.