Electrochemical deposition of nanostructured polyaniline on an insulating substrate

In order to obtain practicable nano-conducting polymer resistive sensors, we investigated the electrochemical deposition of polyaniline (PANI) on the insulating gap area of an interdigitated electrode with a gap width as great as 100 μm. We revealed that the nucleation and growth of PANI on the insulating substrate were influenced by the surface character of the substrate such as hydrophilicity and roughness. By controlling the polymerization conditions, homogeneous PANI films with various nanostructures could be obtained across the insulating gap to form resistive junctions. Among them, a loose 2D nanowire network structure showed the best sensing performance upon exposure to ammonia gas with a low concentration.     

Stepwise deposition of metal organic frameworks on flexible synthetic polymer surfaces

Thin films of [Cu(3)(btc)(2)](n) (btc = 1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylate) metal organic framework were deposited in a stepwise manner on surfaces of flexible organic polymers. The thickness of films can be precisely controlled. The deposition of the first cycles was monitored by UV-vis spectroscopy. The porosity was proven by the adsorption of pyrazine, which was monitored by FT-IR and thermogravimetric analysis. The deposition of MOF thin films on flexible polymer surfaces might be a new path for the fabrication of functional materials for different applications, such as protection layers for working clothes and gas separation materials in the textile industry.     

Chemical pathways in the interactions of reactive metal atoms with organic surfaces: vapor deposition of Ca and Ti on a methoxy-terminated alkanethiolate monolayer on Au

In situ time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry, infrared spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements have been used to characterize the interfacial chemistry that occurs upon physical vapor deposition of Ti and Ca atoms onto a -OCH(3) terminated alkanethiolate self-assembled monolayer (SAM) on Au{111}. While the final result for both metals is near-exhaustive degradation of the methoxy terminal group and partial degradation of the alkyl chains to inorganic products such as carbides, hydrides, and oxides, the reaction mechanisms differ significantly. Titanium reacts in parallel with the -OCH(3) and -CH(2)- units, extensively degrading the latter until a metallic overlayer forms preventing further degradation. At this point, there is a cessation of the Ti-SAM reactions. In contrast, Ca is initially consumed by the -OCH(3) terminal group via a reaction mechanism involving two -OCH(3) groups; subsequent depositions lead to alkyl chain degradation, but at a rate slower than that for Ti deposition. These results demonstrate the subtle differences in chemistry that can arise in the vapor deposition of reactive metals, and have important implications for the behavior of electrical interfaces in organic and molecular devices made with Ti or Ca top contacts.     

Self-assembled monolayer of organic iodine on a Au surface for attachment of redox-active metal clusters

The attachment of a bifunctional iodo-organo-phosphinate compound to gold (Au) surfaces via chemisorption of the iodine atom is described and used to chelate a redox-active metal cluster via the phosphinate group. XPS, AFM, and electrochemical measurements show that (4-iodo-phenyl)phenyl phosphinic acid (IPPA) forms a tightly bound self-assembled monolayer (SAM) on Au surfaces. The surface coverage of an IPPA monolayer on Au was quantified by an electrochemical method and found to be 0.40 +/- 0.03 nmol/cm2, roughly corresponding to 0.4 monolayers. We show that the Au/IPPA SAM, but not the underivatized Au, adsorbs Mn4O4(Ph2PO2)6 from solution by a phosphinate exchange reaction to yield Au/IPPA/Mn4O4(Ph2PO2)5 SAM. The resulting SAM is firmly bound and not removed by sonication, as confirmed by manganese XPS (Mn 2p1/2) and by AFM. Electrochemistry confirms that Mn4O4(Ph2PO2)6 is anchored on the Au/IPPA surface and that redox chemistry can be mediated between the electrode and the surface-attached complex. Mn4O4(Ph2PO2)6 contains the reactive Mn4O46+ cubane core, a redox-active bioinspired catalyst.     

Electrochemical study of self-assembled monolayer adsorption

The electrochemical behaviour of self-assembled monolayer (SAM) of aliphatic hexadecanethiol was studied by cyclic voltammetry (CV), elimination voltammetry with linear scan (EVLS) and crystal quartz microbalance (QCM). SAMs were electrochemically created on gold-coated QCM crystal through the sulphur in 1-hexadecanethiol molecule head group. The effect of thiol concentration and potential scan rate on the SAM formation was studied. Formation of SAM was confirmed by CV and QCM. EVLS results revealed the kinetically controlled process followed with electrode reaction in adsorbed state characteristic for SAM formation at lower concentration. The electrode reaction of a totally adsorbed electroactive species was indicated by means of a peak-counter peak signal at higher thiol concentration.     

Effect of metal ions on monolayer collapses

A Langmuir monolayer of stearic acid on pure water and in the presence of certain divalent metal ions such as Cd and Pb at pH approximately 6.5 of the subphase water collapses at constant area, while for other divalent ions such as Mg, Co, Zn, and Mn at the same subphase pH the monolayer collapses nearly at constant pressure. Films of stearic acid with Cd, Pb, Mn, and Co in the subphase (at pH approximately 6.5) have been transferred onto hydrophilic Si(001) using a horizontal deposition technique, just after and long after collapse. Electron density profiles obtained from X-ray reflectivity analysis show that a three-molecular-layer structure starts to form just after constant area collapse, where in the lowest molecular layer, in contact with the substrate, molecules are in asymmetric configuration, i.e., both hydrocarbon tails are on the same side of the metal-bearing headgroup that touches the substrate, while the molecules above the first layer are in symmetric conformation of the tails with respect to the headgroups. Further along collapse, when the surface pressure starts to rise again with a decrease in area, more layers with molecules in the symmetric configuration are added, but the coverage is poor. On the other hand, only bimolecular layers form after constant pressure collapse, with the lower and upper layers having molecules in asymmetric and symmetric configurations, respectively, and the upper molecular layer density increases with compression of the monolayer after collapse. A "Ries mechanism" for constant area collapse and a "folding and sliding mechanism" for constant pressure collapse have been proposed.     

Electrochemical fabrication of metal/organic/metal junctions for molecular electronics and sensing applications

A simple electrochemical approach was used for fabricating electrode/metal nanowire/(molecule or polymer)/electrode junctions for sensing or molecular electronics applications. The procedure for fabricating these molecule-based devices involves electropolymerization of phenol or chemisorption of alkanethiols on one set of electrodes (E1) and electrodeposition of Ag metal nano/microwires on a second electrode (E2) which is ～5 μm away from E1. Under appropriate deposition conditions, Ag nanowires grow from E2 and cross over to E1, forming a E1/(molecule or polymer)/Ag nanowire (NW)/E2 junction. The junction resistance was controlled by (1) electrodepositing polyphenol of varied densities on E1 and (2) assembling alkanethiols of different chain lengths on E1. Ag NWs at high resistance E1/polyphenol/Ag NW/E2 junctions functionalized with Pd monolayer protected clusters (MPCs) responded fast and reversibly to H(2) concentrations as low as 0.11% in a nitrogen carrier gas by a resistance decrease, likely due to volume expansion of the Pd nanoparticles, demonstrating the use of these electrochemically fabricated junctions for gas sensing applications.     

Long-range molecular organization of an organic monolayer grafted on a mineral substrate.

Structured and functional materials are of the utmost importance for the development of microelectronic technology. We report on a method to obtain a highly ordered organic molecular layer on a mineral substrate. We took advantage of the regular array of reactive sites present at the single-crystal surface of topaz to perform a liquid-phase silanization reaction. The grazing-incidence diffraction technique was used to characterize the bare and covalently coated surfaces. The ordering of the monomolecular organic layer reproduces the perfect single-crystal structure of the cleaved surface over millimeter distances.     

Langmuir—Blodgett monolayer deposition on collodion

The deposition of stearic acid monolayers on collodion by the Langmuir-Blodgett method was characterized by transfer ratio and withdrawal contact angle measurements. A transfer mechanism is proposed and discussed.     

Electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance study of azurin adsorption onto an alkanethiol self-assembled monolayer on gold

A quartz crystal microbalance coupled with electrochemistry was used to examine the adsorption of azurin on a gold electrode modified with a self-assembled monolayer of octanethiol. Azurin adsorbed irreversibly to form a densely packed monolayer. The rate of azurin adsorption was related to the bulk concentration of azurin in solution within the concentration range studied. At a high azurin concentration (2.75 muM), adsorption was rapid with a stable adsorption maximum attained in 2-3 min. At a lower azurin solution concentration (0.35 muM), the time to reach a stable adsorption maximum was approximately 30 min. Interestingly, the maximum surface concentration attained for all solution concentrations studied by the QCM method was 25 +/- 1 pmol cm-2, close to that predicted for monolayer coverage. The dissipation was monitored during adsorption, and only small changes were detected, implying a rigid adsorption model, as needed when using the Sauerbrey equation. Cyclic voltammetric data were consistent with a one-electron, surface-confined CuII/CuI azurin process with fast electron-transfer kinetics. The electroactive surface concentration calculated using voltammetry was 7 +/- 1 pmol cm-2. The differences between the QCM and voltammetrically determined surface coverage values reflect, predominantly, the different measurement methods but imply that all surface-confined azurin is not electrochemically active on the time scale of cyclic voltammetry.     

Rapid fabrication of metal organic framework thin films using microwave-induced thermal deposition

We have demonstrated a novel method to rapidly fabricate nanoporous MOF thin films and patterns on porous alumina substrates under microwave irradiation.     

Functional regulation of an immobilized redox protein on an oriented metal coordinated peptide monolayer as an electron mediator

We fabricated a vertically and unidirectionally oriented metal coordinated α-helical peptide monolayer, Leu(2)Ala(Pyri)(Co(II))Leu(6)Ala(4-Pyri)(Co(II))Leu(6), by stepwise polymerization on a mixed self-assembled monolayer consisting of amino-alkanethiol, dialkyl disulfide, and ferrocenyl alkanethiol acted as a photoresponsive electron donor. Redox-active protein, nitrate reductase (NR), was fixed on the surface of the peptide monolayer. By contrast, we fixed NR on the mixed self-assembled monolayer directly. Upon photoirradiation, electron flow occurred from the excited ferrocenyl group on the substrate to the electron acceptor, NR, on the surface of the molecular layers. The activated NR on the molecular layers reduced the nitrate to nitrite. The amount of the bioelectrocatalytic product, nitrite, generated by the immobilized NR on the peptide monolayer was larger than that produced by the immobilized NR on the mixed self-assembled monolayer directly. That is to say, the NR on the peptide monolayer has been more activated rather than that on the peptide absent monolayer by photoirradiation. The effective activation of the NR on the peptide monolayer can be explained in terms of enhancement of the vectorial electron flow along the macro-dipole moment of the α-helical peptide that arranged unidirectionally. It suggested that the ordered metal coordinated α-helical peptide monolayer acted as an efficient electron mediator to achieve a communication between the electron donor and the redox-active moiety. Such a hybrid molecular system looks promising for novel nanodevices, such as nano-photoreactors.     

Conductance switching in an organic material: from bulk to monolayer

Fluorescein sodium, which does not exhibit electrical bistability in thin films, can be switched to a high conducting state by the introduction of carbon nanotubes as channels for carrier transport. Thin films based on fluorescein sodium/carbon nanotubes display memory switching phenomenon among a low conducting state and several high conducting states. Read-only and random-access memory applications between the states resulted in multilevel memory in these systems. Results in thin films and in a monolayer (deposited via layer-by-layer assembly) show that instead of different molecular conformers, multilevel conducting states arise from the different density of high conducting fluorescein molecules.     

Electrochemical deposition of copper phosphides

Summary Methods for preparation of copper phosphides at ambient temperatures by electrodeposition are presented. From P₄/PCl₃/Acetonitrile/TBA-BF₄/Cu⁺ (solvated) Cu₃P and Cu₃P₂ can be obtained at different deposition potentials.

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Elektrochemische Abscheidung von Kupferphosphiden

Zusammenfassung Es werden Verfahren zur Herstellung von Kupferphosphiden bei ambienten Temperaturen beschrieben. Aus der Anordnung P₄/PCl₃/Acetonitril/TBA-BF₄/Cu⁺ (solvatisiert) können Cu₃P und Cu₃P₂ bei verschiedenen Abscheidungspotentialen erhalten werden.

     

Electrochemical deposition of dodecanoate on lead in view of an environmentally safe corrosion inhibition

Non-toxic linear sodium monocarboxylates can be successfully used as inhibitors for the corrosion of many metals. The adsorption of these molecules onto a metal is usually achieved by immersing the metal in the carboxylate solution for a few hours. This paper describes the strength of cyclic voltammetry in forming a sodium dodecanoate coating on a lead electrode. We show that this approach is much less time-consuming compared with the immersion method and enables one to control and to characterize the layer formed by following the potential and current during the process. Additional ATR-IR and X-ray diffraction spectroscopic analyses were performed to qualitatively characterize the newly formed coating.     

Changes in surface stress caused by the adsorption of an epitaxial metal monolayer

The adsorption of a metal monolayer on a foreign substrate generates a change in the surface stress. We calculate this change for a number of substrate/adsorbate systems using the embedded-atom method. The results are compared with those obtained from a continuum model. A cycle, in which the stretching of a substrate/adsorbate system is decomposed into several steps, helps in understanding the numerical results.     

A kinetic model for the growth of znte by metal organic chemical vapour deposition

A kinetic model for the metal organic chemical vapour deposition (MOCVD) growth of ZnTe is presented, taking into account the competitive adsorption of organometallic precursors. By assuming that diethylzinc (DEZn) and diethyltellurium (DETe) or di-isopropyltellurium (DIpTe) are adsorbed onto the surface by two sites, the model yields the growth rate as a function of the gas-phase concentrations of the constitutents and is corroborated by experimental results obtained by the MOCVD growth (at 400°C with DETe or 350°C with DIpTe), which shows asymmetric behaviour: for a given DETe or DIpTe pressure (10^?4 atm), the growth rate as a function of DEZn partial pressure passes through a maximum, whereas, at the same constant DEZn pressure, the growth rate increases monotonically when the DETe or DIpTe partial pressure increases