Element Six Collaboration with the University of Warwick Introduce an All-Diamond Packaging Solution for High Performance Electroanalytical Sensing Applications

CHICAGO, March 3, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- AT PITTCON 2014 — Element Six, the world leader in synthetic diamond supermaterials and member of the De Beers Group of Companies, today announced the development of an all-diamond packaging solution for electroanalytical sensing applications, in collaboration with the University of Warwick. The solution will transform next generation electroanalytical sensing systems to benefit the biomedical, environmental, food, industrial process monitoring, pharmaceuticals and oil and gas industries. 

The all-diamond packaging solution is comprised of Element Six's Diafilm EA grade, a free-standing,  boron doped synthetic diamond electrode (introduced to the market in 2013) and available in a variety of electrode geometries encapsulated in co-planar insulating diamond. This packaging permits easy integration of the sensor into any electrochemical system while allowing the diamond electrode to work at its full performance potential. To date all-diamond sensors have been successfully integrated into conductivity meters, macro electrodes and flow through electrochemical devices.

"The all-diamond packaging solution enables electrochemical devices to survive and thrive in the harshest of environments," said Professor Julie Macpherson, The University of Warwick. "The combination of this ability to maximize durability along with the precise geometry of the co-planar electrode arrays allows the system to achieve very high sensitivities in a variety of different detection environments." 

Mike Riding, managing director, Process Instruments UK Ltd. (Pi) said, "Element Six and the University of Warwick did a fantastic job with the all-diamond device. The structured electrode packaging allowed us to seamlessly integrate their diamond conductivity sensor into our existing analyser technology, and we consider this an exciting development for advanced electroanalytical sensing."

The properties of Element Six's Diafilm EA grade electrode material outperform thin-film boron doped electrodes and other electrode materials, as it:

• Allows the highest possible sensitivity, selectivity and responsiveness in electroanalysis systems: 100 percent phase purity delivers the widest solvent window of any electrode material at -2.3 to +2.4V to improve species detection of ions including sulfide, lead, copper and zinc
• Eliminates substrate failure mechanisms and can operate in the most corrosive of environments including elevated temperature and pressure operations: chemically inert, robust, free-standing solid diamond electrode presents a typical surface roughness of Ra<0.02 μm
• Delivers greater sensitivity and outperforms other electrode materials such as platinum, gold and glassy carbon: precisely controlled boron concentrations give it metal-like ohmic conductivity while achieving extremely low capacitance leading tovery low background currents and detection sensitivities down to sub parts per billion in analytical applications

"Element Six is at the forefront of innovating synthetic diamond applications that can benefit a number of important industries," said Adrian Wilson, director of Element Six Technologies Group. "The development of this all-diamond packaging solution is further testament to our commitment to fully exploit the unique properties of synthetic diamond, particularly for high sensitivity and harsh environment applications."

At Pittcon 2014 (Booth #635), Element Six will be showcasing the all-diamond sensor structure in a manufactured coplanar two-probe conductivity meter. Warwick University will be hosting a number of technical sessions during Pittcon including "Advances in Diamond Based Sensing and Analysis" presented by Professor Julie Macpherson, on Monday, March 3 at 1:30 p.m. ET and "All Diamond Conductivity Measurement Device" presented by Dr. Max Joseph on Thursday, March 6 at 10:25 a.m. ET

If you're interested in learning more about Element Six's sensor solutions, please visit www.e6.com/sensors.

About Element Six

Element Six is a synthetic diamond supermaterials company. Element Six is a member of the De Beers Group of Companies, its majority shareholder. Element Six designs, develops and produces synthetic diamond supermaterials, and operates worldwide with its head office registered in Luxembourg, and primary manufacturing facilities in China, Germany, Ireland, Sweden, South Africa, U.S. and the U.K.  Element Six supermaterial solutions are used in applications such as cutting, grinding, drilling, shearing and polishing, while the extreme properties of synthetic diamond beyond hardness are already opening up new applications in a wide array of industries such as optics, power transmission, water treatment, semi-conductors and sensors.

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SOURCE Element Six