Some articles have revealed that the electrodeposition of calcium phosphate (CaP) coatings entails a precursor phase, similarly to biomineralization in vivo. The chemical composition of the initial layer and its thickness are, however, still arguable, to the best of our knowledge. Moreover, while CaP and electrodeposition of metal coatings have been studied utilizing atom-probe tomography (APT), the electrodeposition of CaP ceramics has not been heretofore studied. Herein, we present an investigation of the CaP deposition on a gold substrate. Using APT and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) it is found that a mixture of phases, which could serve as transient precursor phases to hydroxyapatite (HAp), can be detected. The thickness of these phases is tens of nanometers, and they consist of amorphous CaP (ACP), dibasic calcium phosphate dihydrate (DCPD), and octacalcium phosphate (OCP). This demonstrates the value of using atomic-resolved characterization techniques for identifying the precursor phases. It also indicates that the kinetics of their transformation into the more stable HAp is not too fast to enable their observation. The coating gradually displays higher Ca/P atomic ratios, a porous nature, and concomitantly a change in its density.

The activity of chiral self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) in electrochemistry is reviewed. Chiral SAMs have been used as a means of introducing stereoselectivity in electron transfer at the electrode/electrolyte interface. In most cases, a cysteine-based SAM was used on gold electrodes. Different attempts have involved the application of chiral thiolated molecules, e.g., cyclodextrin, imprinting of chiral objects and competitive complexation. More recently, spintronics in which magnetic fields applied next to chiral SAM induced chiral effects, were also reported. Yet, there is much room for additional and innovative ideas in this field of electrochemistry.

The formation and local deposition of well-shaped Au nanostructures on a nonconducting surface are described. Specifically, the local electroless deposition of Au in aqueous solutions in the presence of various n-alkylpyridinium surfactants is driven by electrochemically generating a flux of AuCl4- at a gold tip close to a 3-mercaptopropyltrimethoxysilane modified Si oxidized wafer. Two reducing agents, NaBH4 and ascorbic acid, were used for the reduction of the gold ions. We studied the effect of the solution temperature, the potential applied to the gold tip and its distance from the surface, the reductant, and the nature of the alkylpyridinium on the structure of the gold deposit. The chloride salts of methylpyridinium, butylpyridinium, cetylpyridinium, 4-carbamoyl-1-cetylpyridinium, and 4-methyl-l-cetylpyridinium were added separately and showed remarkable effect on the shape of the structures that were formed. We find that short chain n-alkylpyridinium salts do not adsorb preferentially on the gold facets, whereas the longer chain n-alkylpyridinium ions cause the formation of well-faceted Au structures, such as cubes, hexagons, and even multipods. Moreover, comparison between local and bulk deposition revealed a significant difference in Au structures that were formed, presumably due to the different concentration profile of the AuCl4-.

Chronoamperometry was used to study the dynamics of Pt nanoparticle (NP) collision with an inert ultramicroelectrode via electrocatalytic amplification (ECA) in the hydrogen evolution reaction. ECA and dynamic light scattering (DLS) results reveal that the NP colloid remains stable only at low proton concentrations (1.0mm) under a helium (He) atmosphere, ensuring that the collision events occur at genuinely single NP level. Amperometry of single NP collisions under a He atmosphere shows that each discrete current profile of the collision event evolves from spike to staircase at more negative potentials, while a staircase response is observed at all of the applied potentials under hydrogen-containing atmospheres. The particle size distribution estimated from the diffusion-controlled current in He agrees well with electron microscopy and DLS observations. These results shed light on the interfacial dynamics of the single nanoparticle collision electrochemistry.

The incorporation of spacers between graphene sheets has been investigated as an effective method to improve the electrochemical performance of graphene papers (GPs) for supercapacitors. Here, we report the design of free-standing GP@NiO and GP@Ni hybrid GPs in which NiO nanoclusters and Ni nanoparticles are encapsulated into graphene sheets through electrostatic assembly and subsequent vacuum filtration. The encapsulated NiO nanoclusters and Ni nanoparticles can mitigate the restacking of graphene sheets, providing sufficient spaces for high-speed ion diffusion and electron transport. In addition, the spacers strongly bind to graphene sheets, which can efficiently improve the electrochemical stability. Therefore, at a current density of 0.5 Ag-1, the GP@NiO and GP@Ni electrodes exhibit higher specific capacitances of 306.9 and 246.1 Fg(-1) than the GP electrode (185.7 Fg(-1)). The GP@NiO and GP@Ni electrodes exhibit capacitance retention of 98.7% and 95.6% after 10000 cycles, demonstrating an outstanding cycling stability. Additionally, the GP@NiO vertical bar GP@Ni delivers excellent cycling stability (93.7% after 10000 cycles) and high energy density. These free-standing encapsulated hybrid GPs have great potential as electrode for high-performance supercapacitors.

The nuclear disasters of Chernobyl and Fukushima presented an urgent need for finding solutions to treatment of radioactive wastes. Among the by-products of nuclear fission is radioactive Cs-137, which evokes an environmental hazard due to its long half-life (> 30 years) and high solubility in water. In this work, a water-soluble organic ligand, readily obtained from alloxan and 1,3,5-benzenetriol, has been found to selectively bind and precipitate Cs+ ions from aqueous solutions. The special rigid structure of the ligand, which consists of a ``tripodal'' carbonyl base above and below an aromatic plane, contributes to the size-driven selectivity towards the large Cs+ ions and the formation of a giant, insoluble supramolecular complex. In addition to the low costs of the ligand, high yields and effectiveness in precipitating Cs+ ions, the Cs- complex revealed a high endurance to continuous doses of gamma-radiation, increasing its potential to act as a precipitating agent for Cs-137.

Controlling the permeability and porosity of an inorganic layer using biomolecule building blocks has raised interest for nanotechnological applications. The challenge lies mostly in the fabrication, usually a long, expensive and tedious process, involving many steps. Using biomaterials for this purpose is highly appealing; due to both ease of fabrication and the final output, that contains a bioelement. The biomolecule, specifically, stable protein 1 (SP1), serving as the scaffold for our pattern, is of great stability and durability, and presents size, charge and structural selectivity towards electroactive species. Here, we demonstrate the ability of SP1 to form a rigid template within a sol-gel matrix, allowing selective electron transfer to the gold electrode. Specifically, a thiolated SP1 was first adsorbed on a gold surface followed by filling the non-occupied areas by sol-gel. The latter was electrochemically deposited. The various steps were carefully characterized. Finally, we studied the electrochemistry of numerous redox couple at the Au/SP1/sol-gel interface and found that the nanochannel array shows charge and structural selectivity, which is based on the interactions between the redox species and the functionalities of SP1. The resulted surface shows promise towards electrochemical sensing applications.

The development of printed electronics has gained much attention as an alternative for conventional metal-based electronics, mainly due to the ability to print electronic circuits on plastics and by much cheaper means as compared with conventional microelectronics. Here we report on a single stage formation of a highly corrosion resistance coating with hydrophobic properties on printed-Cu nanoparticles. Our method is based on the synergistic effect of benzotriazole (BTA) as corrosion inhibitor and trimethylsiloxysilicate (TMS) as hydrophobic component. Printed-Cu coated with such TMS/BTA layer exhibited excellent corrosion resistance in 3.5% NaCl solution, reducing the dissolution of Cu into soluble species by one order of magnitude.

More than 50% of solar energy comes from the infrared region (as radiant heat) of the solar spectrum. Electrochromic (EC) materials, which can dynamically modulate the transmittance of infrared (IR) radiation, can be effectively applied in smart windows for thermal management in buildings. In this work, a core-shell TiO2-WO3 inverse opal (IO) structure was fabricated through the electrodeposition of WO3 onto TiO2 IO templates. The TiO2 IO templates were synthesized by introducing TiO2 into the voids of a polystyrene (PS) colloidal crystal template, followed by calcination to remove the PS microspheres. It was found that the TiO2-WO3 IO core-shell structure can modulate NIR transmittance at wavelengths from 700 to 1600 nm in the NIR range when potential is applied in LiClO4/PC electrolyte. When -0.3 V is applied, up to 60% of NIR radiation in this range can be blocked. The NIR transmittance can be modulated by tuning the applied potential. This study focuses on comparing the novel TiO2-WO3 IO structure with electrodeposited WO3 thin film to fully elucidate the effect of the inverse opal morphology and the TiO2-WO3 hybrid system on the optical properties. Results show that the NIR blockage can be sustained up to 90% after 1200 reversible cycles for TiO2-WO3 IO structure. The greater surface area of the IO structure increases the number of active sites available for the redox reactions by providing a larger contact area with the electrolyte. The more electroactive area with improved charge transfer enhances the overall NIR transmittance contrast as compared to bulk WO3 thin film. Furthermore, the addition of WO3 to TiO2 to form a composite has been shown to enhance cycling performance and device lifespan.

We present a novel gas phase detection prototype based on assembling core-shell nanospheres made of a silver core and coated with a molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) adsorbed onto an interdigitated array (IDA) electrode chemiresistor (CR). The core-shell nanospheres, AgNP@MIPs, were imprinted with linalool, a volatile terpene alcohol, as a model system. The thickness of the MIP layer was tuned to a few nanometers to enable the facile ingress and egress of the linalool, as well as to enhance the electrical transduction through the Ag core. The AgNP@MIPs were spread onto the IDA-CR modified with various positively charged polymers, by drop casting and dip-coating. The AgNP@MIPs were characterized by various techniques such as extra high-resolution scanning and tunnelling electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. The MIP recognition event was transduced into a measurable increase in the resistance. The response to linalool exposure and removal was fast and the device was fully recovered and could be reused. Finally, the difference in the resistance change between imprinted and non-imprinted nanospheres was substantial.

The sensing performance of a Langmuir-Blodgett monolayer was significantly improved by controlling the film organization at the air-water interface. Cellulose acetate (CA) and 4-tert-butylcalix [6] arene (calix) were co-spread and formed a Langmuir film, which was efficiently transferred onto a preoxidized gold electrode, Au-ox. The modified gold electrode was applied as a fast, highly sensitive electrochemical sensing platform for the quantitative determination of a model molecule, dopamine (DA). The modified gold electrode, CA-calix/Au-ox, demonstrated better recognition and sensing ability towards dopamine as compared with electrodes modified by a single component. Under the optimized conditions, the reduction peak currents at the CA-calix/Au-ox increased linearly within the concentration range of dopamine from 5 to 100 and 100-7500 nM, and exhibited a very low limit of detection (LOD) of 2.54 nM (S/N = 3). These results suggest a simple, superior and efficient approach for the controllable rearrangement of Langmuir-Blodgett monolayers on a molecular level. The electroanalytical performance was optimized from the perspective of the electrode-electrolyte interface. (C 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.