ance (PQCI) analysis was proposed as a novel multiparameter method for investigating the cyclic voltammetric growth of poly(o-phenylenediamine) (PoPD) thin films at Au electrodes in aqueous solutions of various pH values and the potentiostatic microetching (localized degradation) of these films in 0.10mol/L aqueous H2-SO4 for comparative examinations on polymer porosity and stability. Two potential-sweep ranges, -0.4 to 0.9 (I) and 0 to 0.9 (II) V versus SCE, and four solutions, acidic (A, 0.20mol/L H2SO4 + 0.10mol/L Na2-SO4; B, 0.10 mol/L H2SO4+ 0.20mol/L Na2SO4), neutral (C, 0.10mol/L PBS + 0.20mol/L Na2SO4, pH 7.2), and alkaline (D, 0.20mol/L NaOH+ 0.20mol/L Na2SO4) aqueous solutions, were selected for PoPD growth. The pH increase for the polymerization solution increased the molar percentage of polyaniline-like chains in PoPD, as quantified from the current peaks at 0.6 V versus a saturated calomel electrode (SCE) for the oxidation of -NH2 groups in as-prepared PoPD (grown from solutions C and D) during their redox switching in 0.10mol/L aqueous H2SO4 for the first time. The unusual PQCI responses observed at negative potentials (potential range I) in the first several potential cycles during the cyclic voltammetric growth of PoPD in acidic and neutral solutions have been reasonably explained as being due to the precipitation/dissolution of the poorly soluble phenazinehydrine charge-transfer complexes developed during redox switching of oligomers for the first time, which brought about much less compact PoPD films and their higher degradability than those grown in the same solution but over potential range II. SECM, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and piezoelectric quartz crystal (PQC) frequency were used to estimate the sizes of etched microscale spots. In addition, the x-, y-, or z-axis movement of a Pt microelectrode of 25-μm diameter near the PQC electrode was found to influence negligibly the PQCI responses in 1.0mol/L aqueous Na2SO4 containing K4Fe(CN)6 up to 0.10mol/L, and a new protocol of dynamically electrodepositing silver microwires via the chemical-lens method was proposed for examining the local mass-sensitivity distribution on the PQC surface.

An electrochemical quartz crystal impedance system (EQCIS) was used to study the resonance behavior of an AT-cut 9-MHz piezoelectric quartz crystal (PQC) with its Au electrode partially immersed in KCl, Na2SO4 and NaClO4 aqueous solutions, respectively. An in situ determination of the immersed area and the height of the electrode was achieved by simultaneous measurements of the PQC electroacoustic admittance and the electrochemical impedance. The rising of the solution meniscus for a gold electrode partially immersed in aqueous solutions was found at oxygen reduction potentials and evaluated versus the electrolyte, electrolyte concentration, solution pH and oxygen concentration. The solution meniscus rising was explained based on a lowering of the contact-angle hysteresis and a continued collection of the water product at the solid-gas-solution interface during oxygen reduction.

The equivalent-circuit parameters of the 9-MHz piezoelectric quartz crystal (PQC) resonance were measured in situ during the galvanostatic polymerization of aniline on 4-aminothiophenol(4-ATP)-modified and bare Au electrodes for ca. 2000s, respectively. Two polymerization media, 0.100mol L-1 aniline in 1.0mol L-1 H2SO4 and in 2.0mol L-1 HClO4 aqueous solutions, and two values of the current density, 12 and 36μA cm-2, were used. At identical levels of the resonant frequency shifts in the solutions, obviously greater increases in the motional resistance (R1) were found afteraniline polymerization on bare Au electrodes, though the absolute values of Δf0/ΔR1 were all large; also, the resonant frequency shifts in air (Δf0g) were considerably smaller for PANI films grown on bare Au electrodes. It is thus concluded that, under identical polymerization conditions, (1) the PANI film grown on a bare gold electrode is rougher, less compact, and can entrap solution more notably; (2) the deposition efficiency of PANI is higher on a 4-ATP-modified Au electrode, owing to a significantly greater observed "dry" frequency shift, and thus a greater "net" mass value of the polyaniline backbone. SEM observations have confirmed that PANI films on 4-ATP-modified Au electrodes were smoother and more compact than those grown on bare Au ones under identical polymerization conditions. In addition, a technique of simultaneous measurements of the electroacoustic admittance of the PQC resonance and the electrochemical impedance was used to monitor the adsorption of 4-ATP onto a PQC gold electrode.

Piezoelectric diffuse reflectance spectroelectrochemistry (PDRSEC), a new technique of diffuse reflectance spectroelectrochemistry (DRSEC) in combination with electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance (EQCM), was developed to study the electrochemical copolymerization of aniline and o-anthranilic acid in 1.0mol l−1 HClO4 and the properties of these copolymers. The DRSEC using an integral sphere was proven to possess a higher optical sensitivity at the unpolished piezoelectric quartz crystal electrodes used than the mirror reflectance spectroelectrochemistry mode. The copolymers grown from the copolymerization bath of different molar fractions of o-anthranilic acid (F1, relative to the total amount of the two monomers) showed intermediate properties between those of the homopolymers, which varied gradually with F1. The swelling/dissolution behavior of the copolymers vs solution pH was traced via the EQCM frequency and resistance signals, and its large dependence on F1 was found and discussed. In a HAc-NaAc buffer solution at pH 5.6, the amount of adsorbed lysozyme was found to be positively correlated with F1, via an EQCM impedance investigation, demonstrating the feasibility of using poly (aniline-co-o-anthranilic acid) as a load-adjustable immobilization matrix for cationic proteins. The novel PDRSEC method proposed is highly recommended for surface electrochemistry studies at relatively rough electrodes.