Nanoscale Reactivity Mapping of a Single-Crystal Boron-Doped Diamond Particle
- Journal:
- Analytical Chemistry
- Published:
- DOI:
- 10.1021/acs.analchem.1c00053
- Affiliations:
- 5
- Authors:
- 6
Research Highlight
Mapping the electrochemical properties of single crystals
© Vladimir Godnik/Getty Images
The reactivity of a single crystal of the electrocatalyst boron-doped diamond has been mapped for the first time, providing insights that will be helpful for optimizing its electrochemical properties.
Diamond doped with atoms of boron is attractive for various electrochemistry applications. It is usually used in polycrystalline form, consisting of many small crystals that have a mixture of oxygen-terminated, hydrophilic faces and hydrogen-terminated, hydrophobic faces. This makes it difficult to disentangle the various contributions to the bulk electrochemical properties of boron-doped diamond.
Now, a team led by researchers from Kanazawa University in Japan has grown a single crystal of boron-doped diamond that was large enough to analyse using a technique known as hopping-mode scanning electrochemical cell microscopy (HM-SECCM).
The researchers found a difference in the electrochemical activities of two hydrogen-terminated crystal faces, demonstrating the power of HM-SECCM for investigating the electrochemical properties of single crystals.
| Institutions | Authors | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Kanazawa University (KU), Japan | 0.50 | |
| Keio University, Japan | 0.33 | |
| The University of Warwick (Warwick), United Kingdom (UK) | 0.17 | |
| Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), Japan | 0.00 |