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Electrochemistry through glass

Nature Chemistry volume 2, pages 498–502 (2010)Cite this article

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Abstract

In this Article we have used new approaches to investigate a well-known chemical process, the propagation of electrochemical signals through a thin glass membrane. This process, which has been extensively studied over the last century, is the basis of the response of a potentiometric glass pH sensor; however, no amperometric glass sensors have yet been reported because of its high ohmic resistance. Voltammetry at nanoelectrodes has revealed that water molecules can diffuse through nanometre-thick layers of dry glass and undergo oxidation/reduction at the buried platinum surface. After soaking for a few hours in an aqueous solution, voltammetric waves of other redox couples, such as Ru(NH3)63+/2+, could also be obtained at the glass-covered platinum nanoelectrodes. This behaviour suggests that the nanometre-thick insulating glass sheath surrounding the platinum core can be largely converted to hydrated gel, and electrochemical processes occur at the platinum/hydrogel interface. Potential applications range from use in nanometre-sized solid-state pH probes and determination of the water content in organic solvents to glass-modified voltammetric sensors and electrocatalysts.

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Figure 1: Characterization of glass-covered nanoelectrodes.
Figure 2: Hydrogen evolution by means of through-glass electrolysis of water.
Figure 3: Oxidation/reduction of water in DCE at glass-covered electrodes.
Figure 4: Effect of acid pre-treatment of glass-encased nanoelectrodes on their voltammetric responses.
Figure 5: Electrodeposition of copper in hydrated glass.
Figure 6: Potentiometric response of a hydrated glass nanoelectrode to solution pH.

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Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge support from the National Science Foundation (CHE-0645958) and a grant from PSC-CUNY. The authors would like to thank H. Gafney, F. Laforge and A. Bard for helpful discussions and J. Morales (CCNY electron microscopy facility) for his help with SEM imaging.

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  1. Dongping Zhan

    Present address: Present address: Department of Chemistry, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China,

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Queens College—CUNY, Flushing, 11367, New York, USA

    Jeyavel Velmurugan, Dongping Zhan & Michael V. Mirkin

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  1. Jeyavel Velmurugan
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Contributions

J.V. performed the experiments. D.Z. conceived the experiments and developed analytical tools for nanoelectrode characterization. M.V.M. conceived and designed the experiments, analysed data and wrote the paper.

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Correspondence to Michael V. Mirkin.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Velmurugan, J., Zhan, D. & Mirkin, M. Electrochemistry through glass. Nature Chem 2, 498–502 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/nchem.645

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