The paper reports on the formation of carboxy-terminated boron-doped diamond (BDD) electrodes. The carboxylic acid termination was prepared in a controlled way by reacting photochemically oxidized BDD with succinic anhydride. The resulting interface was readily employed for the linking of an amine-terminated ligand such as an osmium complex bearing an amine terminal group. The interfaces were characterized using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and cyclic voltammetry (CV). Contact angle measurements were used to follow the changes in surface wetting properties due to surface functionalization. The chemical reactivity of the carboxyl-terminated BDD was investigated by covalent coupling of the acid groups to an amine-terminated osmium complex. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.