Line Koefoed: Electrochemical Modification of Carbonaceous Materials by Bipolar Electrochemistry

L. Koefoed, L. Thyssen, K. Shimizu, A. Kuhn, D. Zigah, S. U. Pedersen, K. Daasbjerg Department of Chemistry and Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark Bipolar electrochemistry is a well-established technique which, recently, has attracted renewed interest in various fields.[1] The versatility of this technique allows several kind of surface modifications to be carried out, including direct reduction of metal ions to form the corresponding metal deposit, fabrication of both gradient and patterned polymer brushes, and oxidation of monomers to electrogenerate polymer films.[2] In this study a novel methodology is reported, which for the first time allows simultaneous deposition of two different organic films at each end of a glassy carbon substrate (1 × 1 cm2).[3] The approach is based on the use of an organic bifunctional molecule, i.e., 4-(2-aminoethyl)benzenediazonium, which may be reductively and oxidatively grafted at the same time using bipolar electrochemistry (see figure). Post-modification of one of the anchoring layers illustrates the versatility of the system, pointing to its potential use in fields going from molecular electronics to targeted drug delivery. Furthermore, it is shown that this wireless technique is not limited to glassy carbon as substrate, but that it works well for transferred graphene. This contactless technique allows electrochemical modification not only of transferred graphene, but also of graphene flakes, particles, etc. 1. G. Loget et al., Accounts Chem. Res., 2013, 46, pp. 2513-2523 2. S. Kong et al., Langmuir, 2014, 30, pp. 2973-2976 L. Koefoed et al., 2015, Submitted Line Koefoed is employed as a PhD student at the Department of Chemistry and Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center at Aarhus University under the supervision of Associate Professor Steen Uttrup Pedersen and Professor Kim Daasbjerg. She received her B.Sc. degree in Medicinal Chemistry in 2011 and her M.Sc. degree in Chemistry in 2014 from Aarhus University. She has had two research stays abroad in Warsaw at the Institute of Electronic Materials Technology under the supervision of Professor Wlodzimierz Strupinksi (2013) and in Bordeaux at Université de Bordeaux under the supervision of Associate Professor Dodzi Zigah and Professor Alexander Kuhn (2014). Her current projects are focused on the electrochemical transfer and modification of graphene.