In situ modified electrodes

Traditional modified electrodes are prepared by drop-casting method, which usually results in aggregation of the catalytic particles and the formation of multilayered electrode surface. We herein propose a new in situ modification approach by dipping the electrode in a suspension of diluted nanoparticles (NPs). The solution-phase NPs randomly collide with the electrode and a small percentage of NPs becomes immobilized on the electrode, leading to the spatial isolation of the NPs on the electrode surface. The as-resulted modified electrode exhibits negligible NP aggregation and significantly improved NP-average activity due to the much enhanced mass transport condition. This work provides a new paradigm for electrode modification, which not only significantly promotes the utilization of the material of interest but also provides accurate measurements of the activity or the electroanalytical performance usually ambiguated by nanoparticle aggregation occurring to the drop casting technique.