Electrochemical properties of carbon nanotube (CNT) film electrodes prepared by controllable adsorption of CNTs onto an alkanethiol monolayer self-assembled on gold electrodes.

This paper describes electrochemical properties, such as electrode reactivity, electrode dimensions, and interfacial capacitance, of multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWNT) film electrodes prepared by controllable adsorption of the MWNTs onto the self-assembled monolayer (SAM) of n-octadecyl mercaptan (C18H37SH) deposited onto Au electrodes. The adsorption of the MWNTs onto the SAM-modified Au electrode substantially restores heterogeneous electron transfer between bare Au electrode and redox species in solution phase that is almost totally blocked by the SAM of C18H37SH, and as a result, the prepared MWNT/SAM-modified electrode possesses good electrode reactivity without a remarkable barrier to heterogeneous electron transfer. In addition, the surface coverage of the MWNTs is readily controlled by adjusting the immersion time for the adsorption of the MWNTs onto the SAM of C18H37SH, which essentially endows the prepared MWNT/SAM-modified electrodes with tunable electrode dimensions ranging from a nanoelectrode array to a macro-sized conventional electrode. On the other hand, the MWNT/SAM-modified electrode is found to possess a largely reduced interfacial capacitance, as compared with the MWNT film electrodes prepared with existing methods by directly confining the MWNTs onto electrode surface. This demonstration offers a new approach to fabrication of stable MWNT film electrodes with excellent electrochemical properties that are believed to be very attractive for electrochemical studies and electroanalytical applications.