Extramural Research
Publications
Grantee Research Project Results
Nongjian J. Tao*
Department of Electrical Engineering and Center for Solid State
Electronics Research
Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287
Abstract
Nanostructured materials are attractive for sensor applications
because of their unique properties that promise high sensitivity and fast
response time. We present two methods to fabricate metal/polyaniline/metal
junctions and demonstrate a chemical sensor application of the junctions.
In the first method, we fabricate metal electrodes separated with a few
nm gap using a combined optical lithography and electrochemical techniques.
We then bridge the gap with polyaniline to for a polymer nanojunction. In
the second approach, the building blocks consist of a microelectrode array
on a silicon chip and microfabricated metallic bars coated with a thin polyaniline
layer. The individual bars suspended in solution are placed, with the help
of a magnetic field, across the microelectrodes to form polyaniline junctions.
The polyaniline layer is ~30 nm thick and modified with Gly-Gly-His oligopeptides.
Strong binding of Cu2+ to the oligopeptide is converted into a conductance
change of the junctions, allowing selective detection of trace amounts of
Cu 2+ ions.
* Supported by EPA (R82962301).