Nano-Roughening A Pt Disk Microelectrode Via Electrochemical Alloying-Dealloying in Ionic Liquid Electrolyte

A green chemistry method to nano-roughen a Pt disk microelectrode has been successfully developed via electrochemical alloying-dealloying in an ionic liquid bath comprising of ZnCl2 and 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride. The nano-roughened Pt layer possesses bark-like nanoporous structures characteristic of nano-sized aggregates separated by nano-cracks whose width ranging from around 50 to 200nm. The nano-roughened microelectrode possesses high surface area and diffusional properties typical of a microelectrode. Electrochemical oxidation and reduction of nitrite have been studied as an example for demonstrating that the nano-roughened microelectrode is a promising technique for electroanalysis and electrocatalysis applications.