Motornov Mikhail, Sheparovych Roman, Katz Evgeny, Minko Sergiy
Department of Chemistry and Biomolecular Science, Clarkson University, 8 Clarkson Avenue, Potsdam, New York 13699-5810, USA.
ACS Nano. 2008 Jan;2(1):41-52. doi: 10.1021/nn700214f.
In this report, we describe a novel approach to create an electrochemical gating system using mixed polymer brushes grafted to an electrode surface, and we explore the switchable properties of these mixed polymer brushes. The morphological transitions in the mixed polymer brushes associated with the electrode surface result in the opening, closing, or precise tuning of their permeability for ion transport through the channels formed in the nanostructured thin film in response to an external stimulus (pH change). The gating mechanism was studied by atomic force microscopy, ellipsometry, contact angle measurements, force-distance measurements, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. In comparison to a homopolymer brush system, the mixed brush demonstrates much broader variation of ion transport through the thin film. We suggest that this approach could find important applications in electrochemical sensors and devices with tunable/switchable access to the electrode surface.
在本报告中，我们描述了一种利用接枝到电极表面的混合聚合物刷创建电化学门控系统的新方法，并探索了这些混合聚合物刷的可切换特性。与电极表面相关的混合聚合物刷中的形态转变导致其对离子通过纳米结构薄膜中形成的通道进行传输的渗透性打开、关闭或精确调节，以响应外部刺激（pH变化）。通过原子力显微镜、椭偏仪、接触角测量、力-距离测量和电化学阻抗谱研究了门控机制。与均聚物刷系统相比，混合刷显示出通过薄膜的离子传输有更广泛的变化。我们认为这种方法可在对电极表面具有可调谐/可切换访问的电化学传感器和器件中找到重要应用。
