Grant: Discovery Grants Program - Individual

This research proposal aims at developing and applying another alternative for surface modification using stable conducting materials such as polythiophenes. Our strategy is based on the deposition of protective conducting layers through electrochemical oxidation on the surface of the electrode. The proposed new approach will help overcome difficulties encountered with traditional methods used for direct organic modifications of solid surfaces and target the deposition of convenient functional groups or bioorganic/biological molecules. The presence of functional groups allows an easier functionalization of the polymers surfaces as well as the introduction of new molecules with different electronic/optical properties. Our approach requires a variety of novel monomers for surface derivatization. To this end, a new methodology for the synthesis of conducting polymer precursors using green chemistry will be developed. These precursors will also generate a series of materials which we expect to exhibit high stability in both states (doped and undoped), low band gap energy and wide range in optical properties, which are important for the construction of biosensors and optical devices. The characterization of the deposited materials onto electrode surfaces will be performed using cyclic voltammetry, scanning electrochemical microscope-tip, UV-vis, Infrared, scanning electron microscopy and XPS measurements. The proposed convenient strategies for the organic modification of conducting surfaces will be a powerful tool for recognition purposes. Moreover, studies described in this research program will provide valuable physico-chemical data necessary for the design of microchip devices.