Electrodes of nitrogen-incorporated tetrahedral amorphous carbon - A novel thin-film electrocatalytic material with diamond-like stability

Electrodes of conductive nitrogen-incorporated tetrahedral amorphous carbon films (taC:N) deposited at ambient temperatures are shown to possess an extraordinary combination of the stability associated with boron-doped diamonds and greatly enhanced electrocatalytic properties. In this first communication on the electrochemistry of deposited thin films of taC:N, we show that this material demonstrates more active charge transfer properties on a variety of systems relative to the H-terminated, highly boron-doped diamond (B-diamond). Stability is shown by chlorine evolution from HCl solution for >10(4) times the coulombs necessary for 4e/C-atom oxidation to CO2 of a 40 nm thick taC:N film without noticeable change of the voltammetry. Propitious attributes result from the high nitrogen content coupled with the sp(2)/sp(3) mixed character of the amorphous semiconductor, which can be deposited at room temperature on practically any substrate. (C) 1999 The Electrochemical Society. S1099-0062(99)01-030-5. All rights reserved.