Highly Conductive Nanostructured C-TiO2 Electrodes with Enhanced Electrochemical Stability and Double Layer Charge Storage Capacitance

Abstract

The present work reports the structural and electrochemical properties of carbon-modified nanostructured TiO(2) electrodes (C-TiO(2)) prepared by anodizing titanium in a fluoride-based electrolyte followed by thermal annealing in an atmosphere of methane and hydrogen in the presence of Fe precursors. The C-TiO(2) nanostructured electrodes are highly conductive and contain more than 1 × 10(10) /cm(2) of nanowires or nanotubes to enhance their double layer charge capacitance and electrochemical stability. Electrogenerated chemiluminescence (ECL) study shows that a C-TiO(2) electrode can replace noble metal electrodes for ultrasensitive ECL detection. Dynamic potential control experiments of redox reactions show that the C-TiO(2) electrode has a broad potential window for a redox reaction. Double layer charging capacitance of the C-TiO(2) electrode is found to be 3 orders of magnitude higher than an ideal planar electrode because of its high surface area and efficient charge collection capability from the nanowire structured surface. The effect of anodization voltage, surface treatment with Fe precursors for carbon modification, the barrier layer between the Ti substrate, and anodized layer on the double layer charging capacitance is studied. Ferrocene carboxylic acid binds covalently to the anodized Ti surface forming a self-assembled monolayer, serving as an ideal precursor layer to yield C-TiO(2) electrodes with better double layer charging performance than the other precursors.