A novel strategy has been developed for construction of nanoparticle chains between nanoelectrodes with bifunctional molecules by taking advantage of linear aggregation of colloidal particles in organis solvents. As c...A novel strategy has been developed for construction of nanoparticle chains between nanoelectrodes with bifunctional molecules by taking advantage of linear aggregation of colloidal particles in organis solvents. As confirmed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM),an individual nanoparticle chain bridged the electrode pair. The present approach makes this technique to be cheap and may be applicable in microelectronic industry.展开更多
A facile method has been developed for the fabrication of Au nanoelecrodes (Au NEs). The tip of Au NEs can be controlled within the range from dozens to hundreds of nanometer.
The coupling of bipolar electrode(BPE)arrays and electrofluorochromic(EFC)imaging has exhibited great abilities in bioanalysis.However,the imaging resolution and analytical performance are hampered by the large size o...The coupling of bipolar electrode(BPE)arrays and electrofluorochromic(EFC)imaging has exhibited great abilities in bioanalysis.However,the imaging resolution and analytical performance are hampered by the large size of the electrode and the rapid diffusion of EFC molecules on the electrode surface.Here,to address the challenges,bipolar nanoelectrodes(BPn E)array and in situ immobilization strategy of EFC molecules were proposed.Anodized aluminum oxide(AAO)template-assisted Au nanoelectrodes array with high density was fabricated as BPn E array for high spatial imaging resolution.By electrically polymerizing EFC molecules on the surface of single Au nanoelectrode,the rapid diffusion of EFC molecules on the electrode surface was not only avoided,but also realizing electrofluorescent imaging on an individual nanoelectrode.Using dopamine(DA)released from living PC12 cells as a model,the proposed strategy exhibited an ultra-high sensitivity for DA analysis with a detection limit of 0.45 nmol/L and the DA release amount from a single cell was calculated to be 0.13 pmol/L.Moreover,the dynamic change of DA release under the drug stimulation from living PC12 cells could also be monitored.展开更多
Detection at single-cell level plays a critical role in revealing cell behavior in different organisms.Nanoelectrodes with high temporal–spatial resolution can precisely and dynamically monitor the physiological and ...Detection at single-cell level plays a critical role in revealing cell behavior in different organisms.Nanoelectrodes with high temporal–spatial resolution can precisely and dynamically monitor the physiological and pathological processes of various single cells.The field of using nanoelectrodes in single-cell electroanalysis is blooming in recent years.In this review,we mainly summarize the recent advances of nanoelectrodes for single-cell electroanalysis from extracellular,intercellular to intracellular levels in the past decade.First,we introduce the main types of nanoelectrodes based on their geometry and characteristics for single-cell electroanalysis.Then,the representative works of using nanoelectrodes to investigate cellular signaling biomolecules and to understand various cellular processes from the extracellular,intercellular,and intracellular levels are introduced.Finally,the challenges and future prospects of nanoelectrodes for single-cell electroanalysis are proposed.This review gives a comprehensive summary of nanoelectrodes for single-cell electroanalysis in the prospects of monitoring cell physiological topography,understanding communication mechanism and revealing physiological functions,which can provide new insights into cell-based pharmacological screening and fundamental studies of disease development mechanisms.展开更多
A novel method for preparing silver nanoelectrode ensembles (SNEEs) and gold nanoelectrode ensembles (GNEEs) has been developed. Silver colloid particles were first absorbed to the gold electrode surface to form a mo...A novel method for preparing silver nanoelectrode ensembles (SNEEs) and gold nanoelectrode ensembles (GNEEs) has been developed. Silver colloid particles were first absorbed to the gold electrode surface to form a monolayer silver colloid. N-hexadecyl mercaptan was then assembled on the electrode to form a thiol monolayer on which hydrophilic ions cannot be transfered. The SNEEs was prepared by removing thiol from silver colloid surface through applying an AC voltage with increasing frequency at 0.20 V (vs. SCE). Finally, GNEEs was obtained by immersing a SNEEs into 6 mol/L HNO3 to remove the silver colloid particles. By comparison with other methods such as template method etc., this method enjoys some advantages of lower resistance, same diameter, easy preparation, controllable size and density.展开更多
Electrochemical energy storage systems with high specific energy and power as well as long cyclic stability attract increasing attention in new energy technologies. The principles for rational design of electrodes are...Electrochemical energy storage systems with high specific energy and power as well as long cyclic stability attract increasing attention in new energy technologies. The principles for rational design of electrodes are discussed to reduce the activation, concentration, and resistance overpotentials and improve the active ma- terial efficiency in order to simultaneously achieve high specific energy and power. Three dimensional (3D) nanocomposites are currently considered as promising electrode materials due to their large surface area, reduced electronic and ionic diffusion distances, and synergistic effects. This paper reviews the most recent progress on the synthesis and application of 3D thin film nanoelectrode arrays based on aligned carbon nan- otubes (ACNTs) directly grown on metal foils for energy storages and special attentions are paid on our own representative works. These novel 3D nanoelectrode arrays on metal foil exhibit improved electrochemical performances in terms of specific energy, specific power and cyclic stability due to their unique structures. In this active materials coated ACNTs over conductive substrate structures, each component is tailored to address a different demand. The electrochemical active material is used to store energy, while the ACNTs are employed to provide a large surface area to support the active material and nanocable arrays to facilitate the electron transport. The thin film of active materials can not only reduce ion transport resistance by shorten- ing the diffusion length but also make the film elastic enough to tolerate significant volume changes during charge and discharge cycles. The conductive substrate is used as the current collector and the direct contact of the ACNT arrays with the substrate reduces significantly the contact resistance. The principles obtained from ACNT based electrodes are extended to aligned graphene based electrodes. Similar improvements have been achieved which confirms the reliability of the principles obtained. In addition, we also discuss and view the ongoing trends in development of aligned carbon nanostructures based electrodes for energy storage.展开更多
Cells are the basic unit of life.Electrochemical analysis of single cells/organelles is essential for uncovering the molecular mechanisms of physiological and pathological processes that are difficult to elucidate on ...Cells are the basic unit of life.Electrochemical analysis of single cells/organelles is essential for uncovering the molecular mechanisms of physiological and pathological processes that are difficult to elucidate on a larger scale.This paper provides an overview of the commonly used fabrication methods for micro/nanoelectrodes applied in the investigations of single cells/organelles as well as the corresponding electrochemical measurements over the last four years including extracellular measurement,combination of extra and intracellular measurement,intracellular reactive oxygen species and reactive nitrogen species(ROS/RNS)measurement,and isolated organelles measurement.展开更多
This work focuses on the fabrication and characterization of Chemical Field-Effect Transistor(ChemFET)gas nanosensor arrays based on single nanowire(SNW).The fabrication processes include micro and nanofabrication tec...This work focuses on the fabrication and characterization of Chemical Field-Effect Transistor(ChemFET)gas nanosensor arrays based on single nanowire(SNW).The fabrication processes include micro and nanofabrication techniques enabled by a combination of ultraviolet(UV)and e-beam lithography to build the ChemFET structure.Results show the integration and connection of SNWs across the multiple pairs of nanoelectrodes in the ChemFET by dielectrophoresis process(DEP)thanks to the incorporation of alignment windows(200-300 nm)adapted to the diameter of the NWs.Measurements of the SNW ChemFET array's output and transfer characteristics prove the influence of gate bias on the drain current regulation.Tests upon hydrogen(H_(2))and nitrogen dioxide(NO_(2))as analyte models of reducing and oxidizing gases show the ChemFET sensing functionality.Moreover,results demonstrate better response characteristics to H_(2)when the ChemFET operates in the subthreshold regime.The design concepts and methods proposed for fabricating the SNW-based ChemFET arrays are versatile,reproducible,and most likely adaptable to other systems where SNW arrays are required.展开更多
The well-developed solid-phase modified strategy at the electrode has enabled the preparation of biosensors for the detection of multiple analytes,even in single living cells.However,limited assay elements can be modi...The well-developed solid-phase modified strategy at the electrode has enabled the preparation of biosensors for the detection of multiple analytes,even in single living cells.However,limited assay elements can be modified at the solid surface,restricting the types of molecules that can be analyzed and the sensitivity of detection.Here,a novel liquid-phase modified strategy at the tip of a nanopipette is designed to realize real-time and local analysis of biomolecules inside the cell that are barely detectable using solid-phase modified nanoelectrodes.This design utilizes the nanotip structure at a platinized carbon open nanopipette to stably retain a nanodroplet that contains the required reagents with high reactivity for the assay of the target analyte.The generated hydrogen peroxide is electrochemically quantified at the Pt layer to carry out the real-time measurement in a living cell with a spatial resolution of 70 nm.Taking advantage of highly spatial and real-time detection,uneven distribution of sphingomyelinase(SMase)in the living CT26 cell is unprecedentedly shown to exhibit the significance in the establishment of liquid-phase modified nanopipette.This new modification strategy opens up a new direction for sensor design and consequently advances the development of biosensors in the chemical and biological research.展开更多
Engineered functional neural interfaces (fNIs) serve as essential abiotic-biotic transducers between an engineered system and the nervous system. They convert external physical stimuli to cellular signals in stimula...Engineered functional neural interfaces (fNIs) serve as essential abiotic-biotic transducers between an engineered system and the nervous system. They convert external physical stimuli to cellular signals in stimulation mode or read out biological processes in recording mode. Information can be exchanged using electricity, light, magnetic fields, mechanical forces, heat, or chemical signals. fNIs have found applications for studying processes in neural circuits from cell cultures to organs to whole organisms, fNI-facilitated signal transduction schemes, coupled with easily manipulable and observable external physical signals, have attracted considerable attention in recent years. This enticing field is rapidly evolving toward miniaturization and biomimicry to achieve long-term interface stability with great signal transduction efficiency. Not only has a new generation of neuroelectrodes been invented, but the use of advanced fNIs that explore other physical modalities of neuromodulation and recording has begun to increase. This review covers these exciting developments and applications of fNIs that rely on nanoelectrodes, nanotransducers, or bionanotransducers to establish an interface with the nervous system. These nano fNIs are promising in offering a high spatial resolution, high target specificity, and high communication bandwidth by allowing for a high density and count of signal channels with minimum material volume and area to dramatically improve the chronic integration of the fNI to the target neural tissue. Such demanding advances in nano fNIs will greatly facilitate new opportunities not only for studying basic neuroscience but also for diagnosing and treating various neurological diseases.展开更多
Scanning probe is the key issue for the electrochemical scanning probe techniques(EC-SPM) such as EC-scanning tunnel microscopy(STM), EC-atomic force microscopy(AFM) and scanning electrochemical microscopy(SECM), espe...Scanning probe is the key issue for the electrochemical scanning probe techniques(EC-SPM) such as EC-scanning tunnel microscopy(STM), EC-atomic force microscopy(AFM) and scanning electrochemical microscopy(SECM), especially the insulative encapsulation of the nanoelectrode probe for both positioning and electrochemical feedbacks. To solve this problem,we develop a novel fabrication method of the gold nanoelectrodes: firstly, a micropipette with nanomter-sized orifice was prepared as the template by a laser puller; secondly, the inside wall of micropipette apex was blocked by compact and conic Au nano-piece through electroless plating; thirdly, the Au nano-piece was grown by bipolar electroplating and connected with a silver wire as a current collector. The fabricated Au nanoelectrode has very good voltammetric responses for the electrodic processes of both mass transfer and adsorption. The advantage lies in that it is well encapsulated by a thin glass sealing layer with a RG value lowered to 1.3, which makes it qualified in the SECM-STM coupling mode. On one hand, it can serve as STM tip for positioning which ensures the high spatial resolution; on the other hand, it is a high-quality nanoelectrode to explore the local chemical activity of the substrate. The nanofabrication method may promote the SPM techniques to obtain simultaneously the physical and chemical images with nanoscale spatial resolution, which opens a new approach to tip chemistry in electrochemical nanocatalysis and tip-enhanced spectroscopy.展开更多
Gold 3D cylindrical nanoelectrode ensembles (NEEs), 100 nm in diameter and 500 nm in length were prepared by electroless template synthesis in polycarbonate filter membranes, followed by selective controlled chemica...Gold 3D cylindrical nanoelectrode ensembles (NEEs), 100 nm in diameter and 500 nm in length were prepared by electroless template synthesis in polycarbonate filter membranes, followed by selective controlled chemical etching. The morphology of the nanowires and cylindrical NEEs was imaged by scanning electron microscopy. The protruding nanoelectrodes were in good parallel order. EDX study showed that the nanoelectrode elements consisted of pure gold. The electrochemical evaluation of the 3D electrodes was conducted using the well known [Fe(CN)6]^3-/[Fe(CN)6]^4- couple. Cyclic voltammgrams (CV) show a very low double layer charging current and a higher ratio of signal to background current than 2D disc NEEs. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) indicates that the 3D cylindrical NEEs effectively accelerate the charge transfer process, which is in consistent with the results of CV. The linear relationship with a slope of 0.5 between lg Ipc and lg v shows that linear diffusion is dominant on the 3D cylindrical NEEs at conventional scan rates.展开更多
Harvesting photosynthetic electrons (PEs) from plant or algal cells can be a highly efficient and environmentally friendly way of generating renewable energy. Recent work on nanoelectrode insertion into algal cells ...Harvesting photosynthetic electrons (PEs) from plant or algal cells can be a highly efficient and environmentally friendly way of generating renewable energy. Recent work on nanoelectrode insertion into algal cells has demonstrated the possibility to directly extract PEs from living algal cells with high efficiencies. However, the instability of the inserted cells limits the practicality of this technology. Here, the impact of nanoelectrode insertion on intracellular extraction of PEs is characterized with the goal of stabilizing algal cells after nanoelectrode insertion. Using nanoelectrodes 〈 500 nm in diameter, algal cells remained stable for over one week after insertion and continued to provide PEs through direct extraction by the inserted nanoelectrodes. After nanoelectrode insertion, a photosynthetic current density of 6 mA.cm-2, which is several fold higher than the current densities attained using approaches based on isolated thylakoid membranes or photosystem I complexes, was observed in the dark and during illumination at various light intensities.展开更多
基金The authors thank the support by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No.60171005, No.6037107 and No.90406023)Promotional Foundation of Ministry of Education of China for excellent youth teachers (2000) Grant-in-aid for Returnee in City of Nanjing, China.
文摘A novel strategy has been developed for construction of nanoparticle chains between nanoelectrodes with bifunctional molecules by taking advantage of linear aggregation of colloidal particles in organis solvents. As confirmed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM),an individual nanoparticle chain bridged the electrode pair. The present approach makes this technique to be cheap and may be applicable in microelectronic industry.
基金This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China.
文摘A facile method has been developed for the fabrication of Au nanoelecrodes (Au NEs). The tip of Au NEs can be controlled within the range from dozens to hundreds of nanometer.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Nos.22174016,21874018,21627806,21635004)Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities(No.2242022K40018)。
文摘The coupling of bipolar electrode(BPE)arrays and electrofluorochromic(EFC)imaging has exhibited great abilities in bioanalysis.However,the imaging resolution and analytical performance are hampered by the large size of the electrode and the rapid diffusion of EFC molecules on the electrode surface.Here,to address the challenges,bipolar nanoelectrodes(BPn E)array and in situ immobilization strategy of EFC molecules were proposed.Anodized aluminum oxide(AAO)template-assisted Au nanoelectrodes array with high density was fabricated as BPn E array for high spatial imaging resolution.By electrically polymerizing EFC molecules on the surface of single Au nanoelectrode,the rapid diffusion of EFC molecules on the electrode surface was not only avoided,but also realizing electrofluorescent imaging on an individual nanoelectrode.Using dopamine(DA)released from living PC12 cells as a model,the proposed strategy exhibited an ultra-high sensitivity for DA analysis with a detection limit of 0.45 nmol/L and the DA release amount from a single cell was calculated to be 0.13 pmol/L.Moreover,the dynamic change of DA release under the drug stimulation from living PC12 cells could also be monitored.
基金financially supported from the National Natural Science Foundation of China(22174106)the Natural Science Foundation of Shannxi Province,China(2020JC-06)the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities(PY3A081,xjh012019044)
文摘Detection at single-cell level plays a critical role in revealing cell behavior in different organisms.Nanoelectrodes with high temporal–spatial resolution can precisely and dynamically monitor the physiological and pathological processes of various single cells.The field of using nanoelectrodes in single-cell electroanalysis is blooming in recent years.In this review,we mainly summarize the recent advances of nanoelectrodes for single-cell electroanalysis from extracellular,intercellular to intracellular levels in the past decade.First,we introduce the main types of nanoelectrodes based on their geometry and characteristics for single-cell electroanalysis.Then,the representative works of using nanoelectrodes to investigate cellular signaling biomolecules and to understand various cellular processes from the extracellular,intercellular,and intracellular levels are introduced.Finally,the challenges and future prospects of nanoelectrodes for single-cell electroanalysis are proposed.This review gives a comprehensive summary of nanoelectrodes for single-cell electroanalysis in the prospects of monitoring cell physiological topography,understanding communication mechanism and revealing physiological functions,which can provide new insights into cell-based pharmacological screening and fundamental studies of disease development mechanisms.
文摘A novel method for preparing silver nanoelectrode ensembles (SNEEs) and gold nanoelectrode ensembles (GNEEs) has been developed. Silver colloid particles were first absorbed to the gold electrode surface to form a monolayer silver colloid. N-hexadecyl mercaptan was then assembled on the electrode to form a thiol monolayer on which hydrophilic ions cannot be transfered. The SNEEs was prepared by removing thiol from silver colloid surface through applying an AC voltage with increasing frequency at 0.20 V (vs. SCE). Finally, GNEEs was obtained by immersing a SNEEs into 6 mol/L HNO3 to remove the silver colloid particles. By comparison with other methods such as template method etc., this method enjoys some advantages of lower resistance, same diameter, easy preparation, controllable size and density.
基金support from NTNU Nanolab and financial supports from VISTA, Zhengzhou Research Institute of Chalco and Norwegian research council
文摘Electrochemical energy storage systems with high specific energy and power as well as long cyclic stability attract increasing attention in new energy technologies. The principles for rational design of electrodes are discussed to reduce the activation, concentration, and resistance overpotentials and improve the active ma- terial efficiency in order to simultaneously achieve high specific energy and power. Three dimensional (3D) nanocomposites are currently considered as promising electrode materials due to their large surface area, reduced electronic and ionic diffusion distances, and synergistic effects. This paper reviews the most recent progress on the synthesis and application of 3D thin film nanoelectrode arrays based on aligned carbon nan- otubes (ACNTs) directly grown on metal foils for energy storages and special attentions are paid on our own representative works. These novel 3D nanoelectrode arrays on metal foil exhibit improved electrochemical performances in terms of specific energy, specific power and cyclic stability due to their unique structures. In this active materials coated ACNTs over conductive substrate structures, each component is tailored to address a different demand. The electrochemical active material is used to store energy, while the ACNTs are employed to provide a large surface area to support the active material and nanocable arrays to facilitate the electron transport. The thin film of active materials can not only reduce ion transport resistance by shorten- ing the diffusion length but also make the film elastic enough to tolerate significant volume changes during charge and discharge cycles. The conductive substrate is used as the current collector and the direct contact of the ACNT arrays with the substrate reduces significantly the contact resistance. The principles obtained from ACNT based electrodes are extended to aligned graphene based electrodes. Similar improvements have been achieved which confirms the reliability of the principles obtained. In addition, we also discuss and view the ongoing trends in development of aligned carbon nanostructures based electrodes for energy storage.
基金funding from Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities(No.20720220014)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.22204134).
文摘Cells are the basic unit of life.Electrochemical analysis of single cells/organelles is essential for uncovering the molecular mechanisms of physiological and pathological processes that are difficult to elucidate on a larger scale.This paper provides an overview of the commonly used fabrication methods for micro/nanoelectrodes applied in the investigations of single cells/organelles as well as the corresponding electrochemical measurements over the last four years including extracellular measurement,combination of extra and intracellular measurement,intracellular reactive oxygen species and reactive nitrogen species(ROS/RNS)measurement,and isolated organelles measurement.
基金This work was supported by the Czech Science Foundation(GAČR,No.22-14886S)the MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033(No.PID2019-107697RBC42(ERDF A way of making Europe)).
文摘This work focuses on the fabrication and characterization of Chemical Field-Effect Transistor(ChemFET)gas nanosensor arrays based on single nanowire(SNW).The fabrication processes include micro and nanofabrication techniques enabled by a combination of ultraviolet(UV)and e-beam lithography to build the ChemFET structure.Results show the integration and connection of SNWs across the multiple pairs of nanoelectrodes in the ChemFET by dielectrophoresis process(DEP)thanks to the incorporation of alignment windows(200-300 nm)adapted to the diameter of the NWs.Measurements of the SNW ChemFET array's output and transfer characteristics prove the influence of gate bias on the drain current regulation.Tests upon hydrogen(H_(2))and nitrogen dioxide(NO_(2))as analyte models of reducing and oxidizing gases show the ChemFET sensing functionality.Moreover,results demonstrate better response characteristics to H_(2)when the ChemFET operates in the subthreshold regime.The design concepts and methods proposed for fabricating the SNW-based ChemFET arrays are versatile,reproducible,and most likely adaptable to other systems where SNW arrays are required.
基金This work was supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology of China(grant no.2017YFA0700500)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(grant nos.22025403,22104051,and 21974060)+3 种基金the Jiangsu Social Development Project(grant no.BE2022794)the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation(grant no.2021M691507)Yuxiu Young Scholars Program(2020)the Scientific Research Support Program for Postdoctoral Fellows of Jiangsu Province(grant no.2021K098A).
文摘The well-developed solid-phase modified strategy at the electrode has enabled the preparation of biosensors for the detection of multiple analytes,even in single living cells.However,limited assay elements can be modified at the solid surface,restricting the types of molecules that can be analyzed and the sensitivity of detection.Here,a novel liquid-phase modified strategy at the tip of a nanopipette is designed to realize real-time and local analysis of biomolecules inside the cell that are barely detectable using solid-phase modified nanoelectrodes.This design utilizes the nanotip structure at a platinized carbon open nanopipette to stably retain a nanodroplet that contains the required reagents with high reactivity for the assay of the target analyte.The generated hydrogen peroxide is electrochemically quantified at the Pt layer to carry out the real-time measurement in a living cell with a spatial resolution of 70 nm.Taking advantage of highly spatial and real-time detection,uneven distribution of sphingomyelinase(SMase)in the living CT26 cell is unprecedentedly shown to exhibit the significance in the establishment of liquid-phase modified nanopipette.This new modification strategy opens up a new direction for sensor design and consequently advances the development of biosensors in the chemical and biological research.
文摘Engineered functional neural interfaces (fNIs) serve as essential abiotic-biotic transducers between an engineered system and the nervous system. They convert external physical stimuli to cellular signals in stimulation mode or read out biological processes in recording mode. Information can be exchanged using electricity, light, magnetic fields, mechanical forces, heat, or chemical signals. fNIs have found applications for studying processes in neural circuits from cell cultures to organs to whole organisms, fNI-facilitated signal transduction schemes, coupled with easily manipulable and observable external physical signals, have attracted considerable attention in recent years. This enticing field is rapidly evolving toward miniaturization and biomimicry to achieve long-term interface stability with great signal transduction efficiency. Not only has a new generation of neuroelectrodes been invented, but the use of advanced fNIs that explore other physical modalities of neuromodulation and recording has begun to increase. This review covers these exciting developments and applications of fNIs that rely on nanoelectrodes, nanotransducers, or bionanotransducers to establish an interface with the nervous system. These nano fNIs are promising in offering a high spatial resolution, high target specificity, and high communication bandwidth by allowing for a high density and count of signal channels with minimum material volume and area to dramatically improve the chronic integration of the fNI to the target neural tissue. Such demanding advances in nano fNIs will greatly facilitate new opportunities not only for studying basic neuroscience but also for diagnosing and treating various neurological diseases.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Founding of China(51205333,21273182,21327002,21321062,21061120456)
文摘Scanning probe is the key issue for the electrochemical scanning probe techniques(EC-SPM) such as EC-scanning tunnel microscopy(STM), EC-atomic force microscopy(AFM) and scanning electrochemical microscopy(SECM), especially the insulative encapsulation of the nanoelectrode probe for both positioning and electrochemical feedbacks. To solve this problem,we develop a novel fabrication method of the gold nanoelectrodes: firstly, a micropipette with nanomter-sized orifice was prepared as the template by a laser puller; secondly, the inside wall of micropipette apex was blocked by compact and conic Au nano-piece through electroless plating; thirdly, the Au nano-piece was grown by bipolar electroplating and connected with a silver wire as a current collector. The fabricated Au nanoelectrode has very good voltammetric responses for the electrodic processes of both mass transfer and adsorption. The advantage lies in that it is well encapsulated by a thin glass sealing layer with a RG value lowered to 1.3, which makes it qualified in the SECM-STM coupling mode. On one hand, it can serve as STM tip for positioning which ensures the high spatial resolution; on the other hand, it is a high-quality nanoelectrode to explore the local chemical activity of the substrate. The nanofabrication method may promote the SPM techniques to obtain simultaneously the physical and chemical images with nanoscale spatial resolution, which opens a new approach to tip chemistry in electrochemical nanocatalysis and tip-enhanced spectroscopy.
文摘Gold 3D cylindrical nanoelectrode ensembles (NEEs), 100 nm in diameter and 500 nm in length were prepared by electroless template synthesis in polycarbonate filter membranes, followed by selective controlled chemical etching. The morphology of the nanowires and cylindrical NEEs was imaged by scanning electron microscopy. The protruding nanoelectrodes were in good parallel order. EDX study showed that the nanoelectrode elements consisted of pure gold. The electrochemical evaluation of the 3D electrodes was conducted using the well known [Fe(CN)6]^3-/[Fe(CN)6]^4- couple. Cyclic voltammgrams (CV) show a very low double layer charging current and a higher ratio of signal to background current than 2D disc NEEs. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) indicates that the 3D cylindrical NEEs effectively accelerate the charge transfer process, which is in consistent with the results of CV. The linear relationship with a slope of 0.5 between lg Ipc and lg v shows that linear diffusion is dominant on the 3D cylindrical NEEs at conventional scan rates.
文摘Harvesting photosynthetic electrons (PEs) from plant or algal cells can be a highly efficient and environmentally friendly way of generating renewable energy. Recent work on nanoelectrode insertion into algal cells has demonstrated the possibility to directly extract PEs from living algal cells with high efficiencies. However, the instability of the inserted cells limits the practicality of this technology. Here, the impact of nanoelectrode insertion on intracellular extraction of PEs is characterized with the goal of stabilizing algal cells after nanoelectrode insertion. Using nanoelectrodes 〈 500 nm in diameter, algal cells remained stable for over one week after insertion and continued to provide PEs through direct extraction by the inserted nanoelectrodes. After nanoelectrode insertion, a photosynthetic current density of 6 mA.cm-2, which is several fold higher than the current densities attained using approaches based on isolated thylakoid membranes or photosystem I complexes, was observed in the dark and during illumination at various light intensities.