Electrochemical characterization of parylene-embedded carbon nanotube nanoelectrode arrays

Abstract

A novel parylene-embedded carbon nanotube nanoelectrode array is presented for use as an electrochemical detector working electrode material. The fabrication process is compatible with standard microfluidic and other MEMS processing without requiring chemical mechanical polishing. Electrochemical studies of the nanoelectrodes showed that they perform comparably to platinum. Electrochemical pretreatment for short periods of time was found to further improve performance as measured by cathodic and anodic peak separation of K 3Fe(CN)6. A lower detection limit below 0.1 νM was measured and with further fabrication improvements detection limits between 100 pM and 10 nM are possible. This makes the nanoelectrode arrays particularly suitable for trace electrochemical analysis. © 2006 IOP Publishing Ltd.