5 research outputs found
Block Copolymer Patterns as Templates for the Electrocatalyzed Deposition of Nanostructures on Electrodes and for the Generation of Surfaces of Controlled Wettability
ITO electrodes modified with a nanopatterned
film of polystyrene-<i>block</i>-poly(2-vinylpyridine),
PS-<i>b</i>-P2VP, where the P2VP domains are quaternized
with iodomethane, are used for selective deposition of redox-active
materials. Electrochemical studies (cyclic voltammetry, Faradaic impedance
measurements) indicate that the PS domains insulate the conductive
surface toward redox labels in solution. In turn, the quaternized
P2VP domains electrostatically attract negatively charged redox labels
solubilized in the electrolyte solution, resulting in an effective
electron transfer between the electrode and the redox label. This
phenomenon is implemented for the selective deposition of the electroactive
Prussian blue on the nanopatterned surface and for the electrochemical
deposition of Au nanoparticles, modified with a monolayer of <i>p</i>-aminothiophenol/2-mercaptoethanesulfonic acid, on the
quaternized P2VP domains. The patterned Prussian blue-modified surface
enables controlling the wettability properties by the content of the
electrochemically deposited Prussian blue. Controlled wettability
is unattainable with the homopolymer-modified surface, attesting to
the role of the nanopattern