Bioelectrochemistry of Surfaces and Interfaces

该研究计划旨在通过在表面使用纳米材料和聚合物来提供性能和特性得到改善的新型电子设备。电化学在导电电活性聚合物的制备和表征中起着重要的作用。电化学技术特别适合于这些化合物的受控合成和明确定义的氧化态的调节。第一个目标是研究共轭聚合物的电活性受到纳米复合材料中金属纳米粒子表面等离子体的显著影响，并可以通过电化学开关来调节。第二个目标是研究这样一种假设，即随着金属纳米粒子在物理上聚集形成更大的粒子，它们的平均相互作用距离减小，从而使它们的表面等离子体在与导电聚合物密切相互作用时相互作用。作为一个长期目标，该研究计划将提供一种系统的方法和配方来开发新型纳米复合材料改性表面和界面。在这项研究计划中，重点是开发在不同表面(碳、铟锡氧化物(ITO)、高定向热解石墨(HOPG)、掺硼金刚石等)上制备的新型电化学和等离子体传感器。这将被用碳纳米管、石墨烯和金属纳米颗粒等纳米材料制成的CEP进行修饰。在电化学生物传感器的发展中，纳米复合材料将被用作活性、传感或催化层，也将被用作包裹生物分子和纳米材料的基质。某些金属纳米粒子与共轭聚合物表现出良好的协同性能。尽管进行了大量的研究，但导电聚合物和隔离纳米材料之间潜在的协同效应的一些基本性质还没有被很好地了解。这些包括聚合物与金属纳米颗粒结合后的导电性增强，以及金属纳米颗粒在电化学开关过程中的驱动集体电子振荡特性(局域表面等离子体共振，LSPR)。这一研究计划有望对利用纳米材料和导电聚合物改善新型表面的稳定性和性能具有重要意义，有助于开发下一代生物传感器和化学传感器。该研究项目融合了电化学、传感器、纳米技术和器件制造，为HQP提供了极好的培训机会。在五年的时间里，硕士和博士研究生将接受最先进的技术和R方面的出色培训，从而为加拿大的经济财富和生活做出积极贡献。

The research program aims to provide novel electronic devices with improved performance and characteristics using nanomaterials and polymers on surfaces. Electrochemistry has played a significant role in the preparation and characterization of the conducting electro-active polymers (CEPs). Electrochemical techniques are especially well suited to the controlled synthesis of these compounds and for the tuning of a well-defined oxidation state. First objective is to investigate the hypothesis that electro-activity of conjugated polymers is significantly influenced by the surface plasmons of metal nanoparticles in the nanocomposite, and can be modulated via electrochemical switching. A second objective is to investigate the hypothesis that as metal nanoparticles physically coalesce to form larger particles, their mean interaction distance reduces such that their surface plasmons interact upon close interaction with the conducting polymer. As a long-term objective, the research program will provide a systematic approach and recipes to develop novel nanocomposite-modified surfaces and interfaces. In this research program, the focus lies on the development of novel electrochemical and plasmonic sensors fabricated on various surfaces (carbon, indium tin oxide (ITO), highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG), boron-doped diamond, etc.) that will be modified using CEPs with nanomaterials such as carbon nanotubes, graphene, and metal nanoparticles. For the development of electrochemical biosensors, nanocomposites will be used as active, sensing, or catalytic layers; also as matrices entrapping biomolecules and nanomaterials. Certain metal nanoparticles exhibit excellent synergistic properties with conjugated polymers. Despite intense studies, some fundamental properties of the potential synergistic effects between the conducting polymers and the sequestered nanomaterials are not well understood. These include enhanced conductivity of the polymer after association with the metal nanoparticles, and the driven collective electron oscillation characteristics (localized surface plasmon resonance, LSPR) of the metal nanoparticles during electrochemical switching. This research program is expected to have important implications in improving the stability and performance of novel surfaces using nanomaterials and conducting polymers facilitating the development of next-generation biosensors and chemical sensors. The research program, with its blend of electrochemistry, sensors, nanotechnology, and device fabrication provides excellent HQP training opportunities. During the 5 year period graduate students, MSc and PhD, will be excellently trained on state-of-the-art technology and R therefore contributing actively to Canada's economic wealth and life.