Ultrasonic-assisted electrodeposition of Ni/diamond composite coatings and its structure and electrochemical properties

Ni/diamond composite coatings have been synthesized by ultrasonic-assisted electrodeposition in a Ni electroplating bath containing diamond nanoparticles. The influences of current density and ultrasonic agitation on the coating composition, morphology, topography, phase structure, and electrochemical characteristics of the electrodeposits were evaluated. Ultrasonic agitation was provided using an external ultrasonic bath at a frequency of 40 kHz and acoustic power of 300 W. Coating samples were also prepared under magnetic stirring for comparison with the ultrasonic-assisted deposits. This work reveals that the diamonds have been incorporated and evenly distributed in the composites. The coatings exhibit dense, granular like morphology with pyramid-like grains. As current density increases, the diamond amount of ultrasonic-assisted electrodeposits first increased to maximum of 11.4 wt% at 3 A dm⁻² and then decreases to 9.9 wt% at 5 A dm⁻², and the RTC of the preferred orientation (2 0 0) plane increases from 76.3% up to 93.4%. The crystallite size was 60–80 nm and the R_a of the magnetic and ultrasonic agitations were 116 nm, 110 nm, respectively. The maximum R_p of 39.9, 50.3 kΩ cm² was obtained at 4 A dm⁻² when respectively immersed 30 min and 7 days, illustrating the best corrosion resistance of the coatings of 4 A dm⁻². The effects of mechanical and ultrasonic agitations on the mechanism of the co-electrodeposition process were both proposed. The incorporation of diamond particles enhances the hardness and wear-resisting property of the electrodeposits. The ultrasonic-assisted electrodeposited Ni/diamond coating has better corrosion resistance than that prepared under mechanical stirring conditions.     

Ultra Compact Nanoporous Platinum Coating Improves Neural Recording

Neural electrodes are key tools for achieving a successful brain-computer interface and the electrodes should be small to minimize damage to neural tissue and obtain good spatial selectivity such as single unit recording. Here we show conventional platinum/tungsten neural probes can be coated with nanoporous Pt. Thanks to nanoporous Pt with the extremely small and uniform pores, L₂-ePt, the electrode impedance could be reduced by more than 2 orders of magnitude while the apparent area was almost the same. L₂-ePt coating enhanced neuronal recording of local field potential in monkeys, leading to facilitating implanted electrical devices in the nervous system.     

Impedance Based Nanotoxicity Assessment of Graphene Nanomaterials at the Cellular and Tissue Level

The interest in graphene for biomedical applications has grown substantially in the past few years creating a need for biocompatibility testing. Biomedical engineering applications using graphene such as biosensing devices, microbial detection, disease diagnosis, and drug delivery systems are progressing rapidly, perhaps overlooking any possible hazards as graphene nanomaterials may interact with biological materials differently than other graphitic materials such as carbon nanotubes and fullerenes. As a potential application for graphene is drug delivery, the toxicity of graphene was tested against an in vitro model of the blood brain barrier (BBB) by measuring trans-endothelial-electrical resistance (TEER). A new approach in terms of electrical impedance sensing was also utilized to kinetically analyze the cytotoxicity of graphene nanomaterials towards the BBB model's individual components, rat astrocytes (CRL-2006) and mouse endothelial cells (CRL-2583), in real time by measuring the impedimetric response. Graphene showed little or no toxicity toward both individual cell types as the resistance measurements were similar to those of the control and further, graphene did not interrupt the integrity of the BBB model as a whole showing the biocompatibility of graphene and the broad potential of using these new nanomaterials for biomedical applications.     

Understanding volumetric capacitance in conducting polymers

Recent measurements in poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) films show that capacitance scales with film volume. We discuss the ramifications of this finding and propose a simple model that describes capacitance in terms of sites in which ions injected from the electrolyte replace holes that are extracted from the film by a metal contact. We propose that volumetric capacitance is inversely proportional to the average distance between these sites. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2016 , 54, 1433–1436     

Plasmonic-Based Electrochemical Impedance Imaging of Electrical Activities in Single Cells

Studying electrical activities in cells, such as action potential and its propagation in neurons, requires a sensitive and non-invasive analytical tool that can image local electrical signals with high spatial and temporal resolutions. Here we report a plasmonic-based electrochemical impedance imaging technique to study transient electrical activities in single cells. The technique is based on the conversion of the electrical signal into a plasmonic signal, which is imaged optically without labels. We demonstrate imaging of the fast initiation and propagation of action potential within single neurons, and validate the imaging technique with the traditional patch clamp technique. We anticipate that the plasmonic imaging technique will contribute to the study of electrical activities in various cellular processes.     

The Electrochemical Behavior of Gold Nanoparticle‐Tantalum(V) Phthalocyanine Composites: Applications Towards the Electroanalysis of Bisphenol A

The formation of gold nanoparticle (AuNP) composites with tantalum phthalocyanines (TaPc) complexes { 1a and 1b (Figure 1 )} is reported. The TaPc‐AuNPs conjugates were characterised by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and transmission electron microscopy. The AFM analyses show that conjugates of TaPc with AuNPs are more aggregated when compared to AuNPs alone. The conjugates and TaPc complexes were immobilized on a gold electrode by drop and dry method and these were characterized by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The charge transfer behaviour of AuNPs was enhanced in the presence of TaPc complexes. All the modified electrodes showed electrocatalytic oxidation of bisphenol A. The limits of detection for complexes 1a and 1 b were 4.78×10^?10 and 2.76×10^?10 mol L^?1, respectively.     

Preparative Electrosynthesis of Strong Oxidizers at Boron-Doped Diamond Electrode in Anhydrous HF

The use of the boron-doped diamond electrode as a sufficiently stable electrode for electrochemical measurements/synthesis in liquid anhydrous hydrogen fluoride medium is reported. Electrooxidation of silver(I) has been studied in this solvent by using classical transient electrochemical methods and impedance spectroscopy. It has been found that faradaic currents related to silver(I) oxidation and the fluorine evolution reaction are reasonably separated at the potential scale, which allows efficient electrosynthesis of Ag^IIF₂, a powerful oxidizer. Impedance spectroscopy measurements provide insight into complex mechanism of AgF₂ formation. The procedure for electrosynthesis is provided for the first time in both galvanostatic and potentiostatic condition.     

The electrical impedance,AC conductivity and dielectric properties of phenol red compound investigated and modeled by an artificial neural network

The impedance spectroscopy, electrical conductivity and electric modulus of bulk phenol red were measured, as a function of both frequency and temperature. Artificial neural networks (ANNs) were used for modeling its electrical properties. The two parts (real and imaginary) of its complex impedance (Z*) were analyzed and the activation energy related to the electrical relaxation process was evaluated. Nyquist curves were plotted showing semicircles for the different temperatures. The AC electrical conductivity follows a power law σ_ac(ω) α ω^η. The maximum barrier height B_m was derived for specific temperatures. A plausible mechanism for the AC conduction of bulk phenol red was deduced from the temperature reliance of the frequency exponent. The dielectric data was analyzed using electric modulus as a tool. In addition, ANNs were used to model the impedance parts and the total electrical conductivity. Numerous runs were tried, to obtain the best performance. The training and prediction results were compared to the equivalent experimental results, with a good match obtained. An equation describing the experimental results was obtained mathematically, based on the use of ANNs. The outputs demonstrated that ANNs are an admirable tool for modeling experimental results.