Nitrogenated diamond-like carbon films for metal tracing

Nitrogenated diamond-like carbon (N:DLC) thin films fabricated with filtered cathodic vacuum arc (FCVA) can have a high sp3 content. Their superior electrochemical properties such as wide potential window and low background current make them a more promising electrode material than conventional carbon-based electrodes. The N:DLC films give pronounced signals for tracing analysis of Pb2+, Cu2+ and Hg2+ with the negative part of cyclic voltammograms and also provide a significant stripping response for determination of multielements (e.g., Pb2+, Cu2+) simultaneously. This work shows that the N:DLC films would be a novel electrode material for metal-tracing analysis.