Nanomaterials Science & Engineering

Comparison of the cyclic voltammetry of benzene-1,2-diol and benzene-1,2,3-triol and their ability to form films on the carbon working electrode after a single potential sweep cycle

Vincent Ball — 2023-10-03

The deposition of thin films on electrode surfaces by methods like cyclic voltammetry (CV) or chronoamperometry was for a long time considered as a drawback owing to the passivation of the electrode and a subsequent reduction in its ability to allow for the determination of electroactive compounds. However, the easy deposition of thin fims from electroactive molecules is also a surface functionalization method. In this article the ability of 1,2-dihydroxybenzene (catechol) and of 1,2,3-trihydroxybenzene (pyrogallol) to form films impermeable to potassium hexacyanoferrate after only one CV « deposition » cycle will be compared. The addition of an additional hydroxyl group on catechol improves the film forming ability in the potential sweep rate window between 1 and 100 mV.s^-1. The obtained data will be interpreted in terms of the reversible (mostly for catechol) versus irreversible nature (in the case of pyrogallol) of the « deposition » cycle.

Local piezoelectric properties of Di-Leucine dipeptides nanotubes

Igor Bdikin — 2023-10-10

Di-Leucine (LL) peptide nanotubes (PNTs) were grown. The local piezoelectric properties of LL PNTs were measured using atomic force microscopy. Using piezoresponse force microscopy the strong piezoelectric properties with d₁₅ ~ 3.2 pm/V was found. The magnitude and distribution of the piezo response signal were analysed depending on the orientation of the tubes. Features of the charge distribution depending on the microstructure of LL PNTs were discovered by Kelvin Probe Force Microscopy.

Nanomaterials Science & Engineering, Volume 5, Number 1, October 2023

Igor Bdikin — 2024-04-17