The Determination of Methanol Using an Electrolytically Fabricated Nickel Microparticle Modified Boron Doped Diamond Electrode

Abstract

Abstract A nickel modified boron doped diamond (Ni‐BDD) electrode and nickel foil electrode were used in the determination of methanol in alkaline solutions. The Ni‐BDD electrode was electrodeposited from a 1 mM Ni(NO 3 ) 2 solution (pH 5), followed by repeat cycling in KOH. Subsequent analysis utilised the Ni(OH) 2 /NiOOH redox couple to electrocatalyse the oxidation of methanol. Methanol was determined to limits of 0.3 mM with a sensitivity of 110 nA/mM at the Ni‐BDD electrode. The foil electrode was less sensitive achieving a limit of 1.6 mM and sensitivity of 27 nA/mM. SEM analysis of the electrodes found the Ni‐BDD to be modified by a quasi‐random microparticle array.