Analysis of Iron (III) Perchlorate at Magnetically Modified Electrodes

Abstract

Electrochemical reactions drive many chemical processes using well established protocols and hardware. Most improvements of electrochemical reactions require substantial changes to existing protocols and equipment, However, our previous work has shown that electrochemical systems may be impacted by the presence of magnetic field gradients at the electrode surface. Using ion exchange polymer films with embedded magnetic microparticles, it is possible to improve reaction kinetics. Previous cyclic voltammetric studies of metal tris-bipyridine complexes at electrodes modified with composite films of Nafion and magnetized microparticles exhibit substantially higher currents than at electrodes modified with simple Nafion films.The aim of this study is to show magnetic field gradients can enhance currents for redox probes other than metal tris-bipyridine complexes and to use methods alternative to cyclic voltammetry (CV). Iron (III) perchlorate is the first transition metal species evaluated by impedance to exhibit enhanced electron transfer rates at electrodes modified with magnetized microparticles in Nafion. The enhancement is attributed to improvements in kinetics of heterogeneous exchange rate and self exchange rate.Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and CV studies at magnetically modified electrodes are compared to non-magnetic analogs for the iron (III) perchlorate redox couple. This redox couple shows kinetic rate enhancements for the magnetically modified electrodes over the non-magnetic analogs.