Microelectrode Electrochemistry in Microemulsion Systems

Abstract

In this paper, we demonstrate the microelectrode electrochemistry of a simple electroactive probe (ferrocene) in SDS/n‐C₄H₉OH/H₂O microemulsion systems. The oxidation of ferrocene within the microemulsion environment was carried out at a Pt microelectrode using a three‐electrode assembly with a Pt wire acting as an auxiliary electrode and an Ag wire as the pseudo‐reference electrode. Excellent Nernstian electrochemical responses were observed. The well‐defined reversible electrochemical responses facilitated the measurement of the self‐diffusion coefficient of microemulsion droplets and introduced the possibility of probing the structural changes of microemulsion systems.

Keywords:

• Microelectrode
• electrochemistry
• microemulsion
• self‐diffusion
• hydrodynamic radius

Acknowledgments

Financial support from the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangxi Province (Grant No. 0220006) and the National Key Basic Research and Development Program of China (Grant No. G1999022505).