SPONTANEOUS COATING OF GRAPHITE-ELECTRODES BY AMINO FERROCENES

Conditions are described under which β-ferrocenylethylamine and some other ferrocene derivatives spontaneously bind to the surface of certain types of pyrolytic graphite electrodes. The resulting coatings are long-lived and amount to several monolayers containing electroactive ferrocene centers. The coatings appear to consist of polymeric condensation products resulting from reactions between oxygen-containing groups on the graphite (probably carbonyl) and the amine. The quantity of material attached to the surface as measured electrochemically is larger in acetonitrile as solvent than in water. The possibility that primary aliphatic amines may serve as general linking reagents at oxidized graphite surfaces is discussed. © 1979 Elsevier Sequoia S.A.