Electroactive nanostructured membranes

Esta tese aborda quatro tópicos fundamentais para o desenvolvimento e aplicação de membranas eletroativas nanoestruturadas (MENs): (i) síntese e caracterização de nanopartículas (Nps) de prata, ouro e platina encapsuladas em moléculas de dendrímero poliamidoamina geração 4 (PAMAM); (ii) preparação de filmes automontados contendo PAMAM e Nps de ouro (PAMAM-Au); (iii) preparação de MENs utilizando sistema core-shell PAMAM-Au@Me, onde Me é um mediador redox; (iv) imobilização enzimática em MENs e estudos biocatalíticos associados a processos eletroquímicos. As Nps foram caracterizadas observando-se a banda plasmônica em espectros na região do UV-Vis. Imagens de microscopia eletrônica de transmissão revelaram que PAMAM-Au e PAMAM-Pt possuem morfologias esféricas, enquanto o PAMAM-Ag forma grandes cristais com estruturas fractais. Estruturas cúbicas de face centrada caracterizaram os cristais formados de Au e Pt, sendo possível estimar os diâmetros (3,0 nm) das Nps pela equação de Scherrer em difratogramas de raios X, confirmados posteriormente por microscopia eletrônica por transmissão (TEM). Um indício de estabilização por encapsulamento do híbrido PAMAM-Au foi obtido de espectros de infravermelho (FTIR), a partir de modificações nas bandas das amidas. A cinética de reação para formação de PAMAM-Au também foi estudada. Filmes de PVS/PAMAM-Au (onde PVS é o poli(ácidovinilssulfônico)) foram preparados com 5 minutos de imersão, com a mesma quantidade de material sendo adsorvida em cada camada, segundo medidas de espectroscopia UV-Vis e voltametria cíclica (CV). No caso do eletrodo ITO-(PVS/PAMAM-Au), saltos de elétrons foram considerados o mecanismo de transporte de carga ao longo do filme. Um novo sistema core-shell Au@PB foi preparado, formando um sistema ITO-(PVS/PAMAM-Au)6@PB, em que a eletrodeposição de PB (azul da Prússia) foi monitorada medindo-se as correntes faradaicas durante os ciclos potenciodinâmicos. Outros mediadores de hexacianoferratos de metais de transição (Fe, Ni, Co e Cu) foram obtidos sobre eletrodos de ITO-(PVS/PAMAM-Au). De resultados de espectroscopia de impedância eletroquímica (EIS), verificou-se que a resistência de transporte de carga decresce na sequência CuHCF > FeHCF > NiHCF > CoHCF e todos os eletrodos apresentaram atividade catalítica para o peróxido de hidrogênio. Uma nova configuração de eletrodo, ITO-(PVS/PAMAM-Au)3@CoHCF-GOx, pôde ser aplicada como dispositivo enzimático, com a glicose oxidase (GOx) sendo imobilizada por drop-coating na superfície do eletrodo e aplicada em experimentos de biocatálise. A glicose pôde ser detectada a 0,0 V (Ag/AgCl), com resposta linear até 100 µmol L-1 de glicose, sensibilidade de 115 nA mmol L-1, limite de detecção de 5,5 µmol L-1 e KMapp de 0,24 mmol L-1, mostrando que o sistema aqui proposto cria um ambiente propício para a enzima operar com alta atividade catalítica.This thesis addresses four fundamental topics for producing and applying electroactive nanostructured membranes (ENMs): (i) synthesis of Au, Pt and Ag nanoparticles (Nps) using polyamidoamine (PAMAM generation 4) dendrimers as template/stabilizers; (ii) fabrication of layer-by-layer (LbL) films comprising PAMAM with AuNps (PAMAM-Au) and poly(vinylsulfonic acid) (PVS); (iii) preparation of a new core-shell system with Prussian blue (PB) around the Au nanoparticles (PAMAM-Au@PB); (iv) enzyme immobilization on ENMs and bioelectrochemistry studies. The formation of the Nps inside PAMAM was monitored by measuring the plasmonic band of NPs via UV-Vis spectroscopy. Images from transmission electron microscopy (TEM) showed well-organized Au and Pt spherical particles, with average diameter of 3 nm and narrow size distribution. In addition, X-ray diffraction of Nps enabled easy identification of the Nps atomic planes (face-centered cubic arrangements). However, PAMAMAg growth showed fractals structures. In order to confirm Au NPs encapsulation inside the PAMAM dendrimer, FTIR spectra in the transmission mode for neat PAMAM and PAMAM-Au were compared. The kinetics of formation of PAMAM-Au was studied by UV-Vis spectroscopy. The deposition of individual PAMAM-Au layers was examined in detail: the adsorption kinetics was determined by CV to be first-order and that 5 min of adsorption was sufficient for maximum coverage. Formation of PVS/PAMAM-Au multilayers showed a linear increase in anodic and cathodic peak currents, indicating that the same amount of material was adsorbed in each deposition step. Electron-hopping was inferred as the charge transport mechanism between PAMAM-Au layers. Using hexacyanoferrate (III) to probe the electrochemical reaction at the electrode surface, the charge transport in the PAMAM-Au layers was shown to be faster than for non-modified electrodes. A new system based on PAMAM-Au@PB was prepared by simple potential cycling electrodeposition after ITO-PVS/PAMAM-Au LbL film preparation. New systems are described based on ENM membranes of ITOPVS/ PAMAM-Au LbL electrodes, with a redox mediator (Me) electrodeposited around Au nanoparticles. The resulting ITO-PVS/PAMAM-Au@Me system was then characterised electrochemically using cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. We demonstrated that the concept of ENM can be generalized to a wider variety of redox mediators. All electrodes modified with hexacyanoferrates showed electrocatalytic activity towards hydrogen peroxide, which is promising for the preparation of nanodevices requiring redox mediators. An electrochemical enzyme device with glucose oxidase (GOx) immobilized at ITO-(PVS/PAMAM-Au)3@CoHCF ENM was developed. Using CoHCF as redox mediator, hydrogen peroxide (the enzymatic reaction product) was determined at 0.0 V (vs. SCE), with linear range up to 100 Zmol L-1 of glucose, sensitivity of 115 nA mmol L-1, detection limit of 5.5 Zmol L-1 and KM app of 0.24 mmol L-1. Such a performance indicates that this system promotes a friendly environment for enzyme immobilization

Determinação de zinco em solo utilizando colorimetria Determination of zinc in soil using colorimetry

<abstract language="eng">In terms of soil fertility, zinc is a micronutrient that is very important in the culture of soy, maize, rice and coffee, because it is a structural and functional component of a great number of enzymes. Therefore, diverse methods have been used to determine zinc in soil. In this work we use colorimetry as a methods of zinc determination in soil using two methodologies of sample digesting, H2SO4/H2O2 and HNO3/H2O2. In order to compare the results, atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) was used. Results show that colorimetric methods can be used due to good sensitivity and reproducibility, since the zinc calibration curve showed good linearity. Comparing colorimetric methods with AAS we observed that the results were equivalent, as proven by the statistical values of the F and t of Student tests. Furthermore, both methods of soil digesting can be used, leading to a flexible methodology of low-cost for routine zinc analyses in soil

Tratamento de efluente da indústria de processamento de coco utilizando eletroflotação

Electroflotation (EF) with aluminum electrodes was applied in the treatment of Brazilian industrial coconut wastewater. The results show that EF with polarity inversion is a very good treatment when compared to others. The removal of pollutants in the wastewater after EF with polarity inversion was 96.3% of oils and grease, 99% of color and 66% of total organic carbon. Also, metal concentrations, turbidity and total solids were reduced

Filtros digitais por transformadas de Fourier aplicados em eletroquímica

The electrochemical properties of micro and nano-electrodes are widely investigated due to their low faradaic and capacitive currents, leading to a new generation of smart and implantable devices. However, the current signals obtained in low-dimensional devices are strongly influenced by noise sources. In this paper, we show the evaluation of filters based on Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) and their implementation in a graphical user interface (GUI) in MATLAB®. As a case study, we evaluated an electrochemical reaction process of charge transfer via outer-sphere. Results showed successful removal of most of the noise in signals, thus proving a promising tool for low-scale measurement

Filtros digitais por transformadas de Fourier aplicados em eletroquímica Digital filters based on Fourier transforms for application in electrochemistry

<abstract language="eng">The electrochemical properties of micro and nano-electrodes are widely investigated due to their low faradaic and capacitive currents, leading to a new generation of smart and implantable devices. However, the current signals obtained in low-dimensional devices are strongly influenced by noise sources. In this paper, we show the evaluation of filters based on Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) and their implementation in a graphical user interface (GUI) in MATLAB®. As a case study, we evaluated an electrochemical reaction process of charge transfer via outer-sphere. Results showed successful removal of most of the noise in signals, thus proving a promising tool for low-scale measurement