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Electrochemical characterization of organosilane-functionalized nanostructured ITO surfaces

  • R. Pruna*
  • , F. Palacio
  • , M. López
  • , J. Pérez
  • , M. Mir
  • , O. Blázquez
  • , S. Hernández
  • , B. Garrido
  • *Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Indexed journal article Articlepeer-review

7 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The electroactivity of nanostructured indium tin oxide (ITO) has been investigated for its further use in applications such as sensing biological compounds by the analysis of redox active molecules. ITO films were fabricated by using electron beam evaporation at different substrate temperatures and subsequently annealed for promoting their crystallization. The morphology of the deposited material was monitored by scanning electron microscopy, confirming the deposition of either thin films or nanowires, depending on the substrate temperature. Electrochemical surface characterization revealed a 45 % increase in the electroactive surface area of nanostructured ITO with respect to thin films, one third lower than the geometrical surface area variation determined by atomic force microscopy. ITO surfaces were functionalized with a model organic molecule known as 6-(ferrocenyl)hexanethiol. The chemical attachment was done by means of a glycidoxy compound containing a reactive epoxy group, the so-called 3-glycidoxypropyltrimethoxy-silane. ITO functionalization was useful for determining the benefits of nanostructuration on the surface coverage of active molecules. Compared to ITO thin films, an increase in the total peak height of 140 % was observed for as-deposited nanostructured electrodes, whereas the same measurement for annealed electrodes resulted in an increase of more than 400 %. These preliminary results demonstrate the ability of nanostructured ITO to increase the surface-to-volume ratio, conductivity and surface area functionalization, features that highly benefit the performance of biosensors.

Original languageEnglish
Article number063109
JournalApplied Physics Letters
Volume109
Issue number6
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 8 Aug 2016
Externally publishedYes

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