Focused ion beam (FIB)-induced changes in the electrochemical behavior of boron-doped diamond (BDD) electrodes

Micro- and nanostructured electrodes play a significant role in modern electroanalytical chemistry. Here, we report on the effect of focused ion beam-induced changes in the surface layers of nanocrystalline highly boron-doped diamond (BDD). The impact of gallium ions induces an amorphization of the surface layers of the BDD lattice, and hence, changes the electron transfer behavior of redox species, which electron transfer is sensitive to surface properties. These changes in heterogeneous electron transfer behavior are investigated in dependence of FIB patterning parameters. The effects of electrochemical post-milling treatments were studied for restoring the electrochemical properties. In addition, Raman spectroscopic and electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) measurements revealed that amorphous carbon is largely removed during the post-milling electrochemical treatment at very negative potentials. Hence, FIB-based nanostructuring of BDD-electrodes with an optimized post fabrication treatment enables the fabrication of miniaturized devices based on boron-doped diamond for a wide variety of electroanalytical applications.