Single walled carbon nanotube channel flow electrode: Hydrodynamic voltammetry at the nanomolar level

The use of single walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) band electrodes in a channel flow cell, for low concentration detection, with hydrodynamic voltammetry is reported. A two dimensional SWNT network electrode is combined with a one piece channel flow cell unit, fabricated by microstereolithography. This configuration provides well defined hydrodynamics over a wide range of volume flow rates (0.05-25 mL min(-1)), Limiting current measurements, from linear sweep voltammograms, are in good agreement with the channel electrode Levich equation, for the one electron oxidation of ferrocenylmethyl trimethylammonium (FcTMA(+)), over a wide concentration range, 1 x 10(-8) M to 2.1 x 10(-5) M, with a detection limit of 5 nM. At the highest flow rates, some influence of the slightly recessed electrode geometry arising from the SWNT electrode fabrication is noted. However, this can be accounted for by a full simulation of the hydrodynamics and solution of the resulting convection-diffusion equation. Application of this hydrodynamic configuration to the voltammetric detection of dopamine is also demonstrated. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.