First principles calculation study on surfaces and water interfaces of boron-doped diamond

We investigated water interfaces of boron-doped diamond (BDD) terminated by hydrogen, oxygen, and hydroxyl groups by using density functional theory (DFT)-based molecular dynamics to elucidate the electrochemical behaviors of the as-grown and oxidized BDD electrodes. The reversible outer-sphere electron transfer on the as-grown electrode and the irreversibility on the oxidized electrode, observed in the experiment, are well explained by the BDD band position and subsurface band bending, which depend on the termination and interfacial dipoles. The reductive character of the H-terminated BDD is found, while the interface covered by the carbonyl oxygen is clearly oxidative. The redox character of the hydroxyl termination depends on the lateral hydrogen bonding network among the termination groups and is rather oxidative at the water interface. We also examined the preference of the boron position in the diamond and the stability of boron pairs and clusters. It is suggested that the wide distribution of the single boron dopants is crucial to the BDD conductivity, against the tendency of clustering. These results give novel atomistic aspects of the termination and the boron doping effects on the BDD electrodes, which is useful for further exploration of the efficient electrochemical applications of BDD.