H. Zafarani
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7 records found
1
We report a novel, simple and cheap generator-collector electrode system, employing platinum leaves, with micron-sized pores and typically 100-300. nm thickness, sandwiched with a porous track etch membrane spacer with typically 30. nm diameter pores. The electrode assembly is sealed into a polymer lamination pouch with one side 2. mm diameter exposed to electrolyte solution. The generator electrode with sweeping potential (top or bottom electrode) shows transient current with high capacitive current component. The collector electrode with fixed potential shows well-defined steady state current response at low potential sweep rates. The fabricated device shows good performance in monitoring both 1,1'-ferrocenedimethanol oxidation and proton reduction redox processes. Oxygen sensor signals are assigned to a lowering of the steady state proton reduction current.
We report a strategy for the fabrication of a new type of electrochemical nanogap transducer. These nanogap devices are based on signal amplification by redox cycling. Using two steps of electron-beam lithography, vertical gold electrodes are fabricated side by side at a 70 nm distance encompassing a 20 attoliter open nanogap volume. We demonstrate a current amplification factor of 2.5 as well as the possibility to detect the signal of only 60 analyte molecules occupying the detection volume. Experimental voltammetry results are compared to calculations from finite element analysis.
Electrofluorochromic systems
Molecules and materials exhibiting redox-switchable fluorescence
Electrofluorochromic molecules share the unique property that their fluorescence changes as a function of their oxidation state. This makes them interesting from a fundamental perspective as molecular dyads are designed and synthesized to tune the interplay of electrochemical and luminescent properties of molecules. Electrofluorochromic systems also find applications in sensing because a fluorescent signal can be detected with high sensitivity. Moreover, in the recent years the interest in redox-switchable fluorescent polymers has strongly increased due to their applicability in display devices. Here, we review electrofluorochromic molecules and polymers; we emphasize their structures and functional principles and point to specific applications.
In nanofluidic electrochemical sensors based on redox cycling, zeptomole quantities of analyte molecules can be detected as redox-active molecules travel diffusively between two electrodes separated by a nanoscale gap. These sensors are employed to study the properties of multiferrocenylic compounds in nonpolar media, 2,3,4-triferrocenylthiophene and 2,5-diferrocenylthiophene, which display well-resolved electrochemically reversible one-electron transfer processes. Using stochastic analysis, we are able to determine, as a function of the oxidation states of a specific redox couple, the effective diffusion coefficient as well as the faradaic current generated per molecule, all in a straightforward experiment requiring only a mesoscopic amount of molecules in a femtoliter compartment. It was found that diffusive transport is reduced for higher oxidation states and that analytes yield very high currents per molecule of 15 fA.
The post-synthetic modification (PSM) of two amino-MOFs with glucose oxidase is reported in this study. The multi-step approach preserved the MOFs' structure and allowed the production of enzyme-functionalized MOFs (MOFs@GOx), which retained the enzymatic activity and showed selective properties for glucose.