Enhanced electrochemical oxidation of phenol by boron-doped diamond nanowire electrode

We fabricated a boron-doped diamond nanowire (BDDNW) electrode via metal-assisted chemical etching (MACE) of Si and electrostatic self-assembly of nanodiamond (ESAND) seeding to provide a large surface area during the electrochemical oxidation process. The effect of nanostructuring of the BDD surface on the electrochemical oxidation performance and the current efficiency of the electrode in phenol were examined. Uniformly covered BDD on nanotextured Si substantially enhanced the electrochemical activity of the electrode. The effective surface area calculated from cyclic voltammetry (CV) was enhanced several times compared to that of a conventional planar BDD electrode. The BDDNW electrode also exhibited greatly enhanced chemical oxygen demand (COD), total organic carbon (TOC) removal behavior, and current efficiency. Furthermore, because of its excellent oxidation performance, the BDDNW electrode also exhibited much lower energy consumption in the phenol oxidation process.