Fabrication of zeolite-modified electrodes via electrophoretic deposition

Zeolite-modified electrodes (ZMEs) have been fabricated via electrophoretic deposition (EPD) onto a platinum rotating disk electrode. A polymer (polystyrene or Nafion) was coated over the zeolite deposit to impart mechanical stability. While the EDP zeolite-Y/polystyrene electrodes showed poor mechanical stability, the EPD zeolite-Y/Nafion electrodes exhibited a high level of mechanical stability in an aqueous solution, even after many hours of stirring. The electrochemical properties of the electrodes were tested by reproducing the cyclic voltammetry experiment previously reported for a zeolite-Y/polystyrene slurry electrode, using Cu2+ as a probe species. The EPD zeolite-Y/polystyrene electrode showed a 44% increase in analyte preconcentration, due to the increase in zeolite density near the electrode surface. The EPD zeolite Y/Nafion electrode showed only a 7% increase in analyte preconcentration compared to the original report, with the lower level in comparison to the polystyrene electrode due to competing ion exchange reactions in the Nafion layer. (C) 1999 The Electrochemical Society. S0013-4651(98)09-079-X. All rights reserved.