Surface‐enhanced infrared spectroscopy on boron‐doped diamond modified with gold nanoparticles for spectroelectrochemical analysis

Boron‐doped diamond (BDD) has gained increasing importance as transparent electrode material in spectroelectrochemistry due to its broad spectral window ranging from the near UV to the far‐infrared regime. However, spectroelectrochemistry in the mid infrared (IR) region may suffer from low signal intensity in particular if experiments are conducted with a single bounce attenuated total reflection (ATR) crystal. Here we report surface‐enhanced infrared absorption spectroscopy (SEIRA) IR‐ATR measurements in combination with electrochemical studies. The electrochemical synthesis of gold nanoparticles was characterized in situ via the absorption changes of water molecules, which progressively increased as a result of the SEIRA effect induced by the deposited Au nanoparticles at the ATR crystal surface. The surface morphology and coverage was examined with AFM. The application of the enhanced IR‐ATR measurements was illustrated with KSCN.