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Developing new products that satisfy performance and durability expectations while also addressing environmental concerns is possible through the reuse of residues produced by industrial processes, aiming to fulfill the principles of circular economy. In this study, we improved the performance of a carbon paste sensor by incorporating untreated (RC) and regranulated/thermally treated (RGC) cork, which are considered biomass residues from the cork industry. We explored the electroanalytical behavior of paracetamol in sulfuric acid solutions using cyclic voltammetry and differential pulse techniques. The cork-modified carbon paste sensors showed greater sensitivity towards paracetamol. Both modified sensors allowed for an excellent resolution in distinguishing the voltammetric responses of paracetamol in sulfuric acid, showing for both an increase in peak currents compared to the unmodified carbon paste electrode. The quantification of paracetamol without interference has proved to be a feasible operation for the RC- and RGC-modified carbon paste sensors; notably, the first showed the most favorable limits of detection (LD = 2.4112 µM) and quantification (LQ = 8.0373 µM) for paracetamol in the sulfuric acid solution, performing significantly better than the second (LD = 10.355 µM, and LQ = 34.518 µM). Finally, the practical utility of the proposed sensors was assessed by analyzing paracetamol in pharmaceutical samples, obtaining satisfactory results that were in line with those obtainable using high-performance liquid chromatography. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electrochemical studies of diamond were started more than fifteen years ago with the first paper on diamond electrochemistry published by Pleskov. After that, work started in Japan, United States of America, France, Switzerland and other countries. Over the last few years, the number of publications has increased considerably. Diamond films have been the subject of applications and fundamental research in electrochemistry, opening up a new branch known as the electrochemistry of diamond electrodes. Here, we first present a brief history and the process of diamond film synthesis. The principal objective of this work is to summarize the most important results in the electrochemical oxidation using diamond electrodes.

A characterization of diamond film electrodes surface-modified by fluorine insertion, through CF4 plasma treatment, is carried out. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) showed that the CF4-plasma treatment results in the formation of a chemical bond between the fluorine and the carbon atoms of the diamond crystals.

The presence of nitrogen compounds in surface and groundwater is a serious concern. The treatment technologies currently used, based mainly on membrane and ion exchange processes, are expensive, complex and above all not very selective. On the other hand, biological processes are very efficient and selective towards nitrate, but the phases following denitrification, in which the treated water is separated from the biomass (potentially harmful to public health), are still very expensive. In this work, an original solution is proposed that combines biological treatment with the use of membranes to keep the water to be treated separate from bacterial cultures, thus limiting or eliminating the subsequent disinfection stages. As a result, efficiencies of up to 98% are achieved depending on operating conditions, while keeping costs low. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conductive boron-doped diamond supports were used for achieving the generalization of some of the interpretations of heterogeneous catalysis in relation to the oxide film electrocatalysts and studying the catalytic properties of noble-metal oxide modifications from the level of submonolayer to a few monolayers. The results indicate the presence of distinct oxidation state changes because the cyclic voltammograms at RuO2 and IrO2 thick-film electrodes show poorly resolved peaks that convolute into broad flat maxima.