Effective activation of physically small carbon electrodes by n-butylsilane reduction

In this work, we report a simple, effective activation of structurally small carbon electrodes by forming an H-terminated carbon surface using n-butylsilane reduction. The electrode surface modification was confirmed by electrochemistry and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Cyclic voltammetry of [Ru(NH3)(6)](3+) at these hydrogenated carbon electrodes yielded sigmoidal-shaped cyclic voltammograms with minimal charging current. They also exhibited superb stability after one-week storage in air or citrate/phosphate buffer. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.