Direct bioelectrocatalysis on anodized epitaxial graphene

• Graphene as a nanomaterial consisting of a single layer sheets of atoms of carbon in hexagonal arrangement is making a significant impact in variety of technologies such as energy storage and chemical analysis. The significant attention paid to this thinnest nanomaterial resulted in thousands of patent applications is due to its staggering properties. Due to the planar conjugation of the sp2bonds in graphene, two-dimensional electrical conduction is highly efficient. On the contrary, the efficiency of electron exchange at the out-of-plane of the graphene sheet is small. The significant difference of the densities of electronic states at in-plane and out-of-plane of graphene sheet determines two distinct structural contributions (basal and edge plane respectively) to the behavior of all graphitic materials yielding the chemical and electrochemical anisotropy. Being the simplest building block of graphitic materials, graphene offers the possibility to study the behavior on the simplest level of structural organization. However, the major effort of the recent electrochemical studies of graphene were done using a bulk materials based on graphene flakes possessing the domination of edges of high reactivity. The planar orientation of graphene sheets with controllable exposure of basal plane is achievable via the growth by chemical vapor deposition or by epitaxial flash annealing on crystalline structures of silicon carbide. The slow growth of graphene onto crystalline support during annealing in the inert atmosphere results in a development of a high quality graphene monolayer attached to the solid insulating support. The creation of sp3-type reactive defects on the basal plane of graphite can be achieved by anodization at high anodic potentials.We developed the procedure for the real-time monitoring of epitaxial graphene anodization. The changes of electrochemical properties of graphene monolayer with anodization have been comparatively investigated by electrochemical methods. The estimation of specific capacitance in pure electrolyte and in conditions of Faradaic process has been carried out. Finally, the direct electrocatalysis of laccase (Trametes versicolor) has been used as an electrode reaction to probe the reactivities of anodized epitaxial graphene and conventional carbon materials.

Ämnesord

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Fysik -- Den kondenserade materiens fysik (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Physical Sciences -- Condensed Matter Physics (hsv//eng)

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