alumina (a white powder) is a usual material for polishing Pt and Glassy Carbon electrode. but in our experiment (for Au electrode) there is an undesired pick in Cyclic voltammogram which is surely the result of polishing method. Is there an alternative material for polishing Au electrode?
Should check if pad used for polish is new
We use to clean in ultrasonic emerging the electrode in nitric acid, after in ethanol, following dd water. Sometimes take time to clean electrode.
The unusual peak in CV may be due to gold oxide formation. I will be pleased to know in which potential window you recorded the CV.
I would say it depends of what you want to measure and what kind of environment the electrode is immersed in. Different preparation style can alter the surface strucure of the gold (e.g. different crystal structures, hyrdrophilic/hydrophobic characteristics ) and that will change how the electrode interacts with the environment.
Make a quick search, there are good articles about this topic.
Good luck
Micrelectronic Engineering 86(2009) 1282-1285.
Gold cleaning methods for electrochemical detection applications.
You can find some methods for gold cleaning.
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