Hello there,

This update covers mar-may 2014 and we have some exciting news from the lab. Here’s a quick summary:

1. Our paper on constitutive model for conducting polymers was accepted for publication in Sensors and Actuators – Chemical:B. (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0925400514005085).
2. Various abstracts (5+) to ASME SMASIS 2014 conference (http://www.asmeconferences.org/smasis2014/) will be presented by our group in Sep-2014 on topics varying from bioderived ionic transistors, scanning electrochemical imaging of electroactive polymers to thermplastic ionomers.
3. We have acquired and installed a biological safety cabinet, melt press for pressing thermoplastic polymers and other miscellaneous data acquisition boards. We are now a BSL2-certified lab.
4. The scanning electrochemical microscope in our lab has become fully operational and is consistent after various combinations of noise mitigation techniques. Electrical noise in our system is under 200fA of current and is by far the least among the three electrochemical analyzers in our lab.
5. We have achieved consistency in the fabrication of nanoscale (10nm-200nm) SECM electrodes that has enabled imaging of various electroactive materials (conducting polymers, IPMCs etc.,). Please see the story board for pictures.

In addition, we welcome three summer undergraduate interns that will work with us in summer-2014 and two graduate students that will starting in our group in Autumn-2014. Our storyboard for this update is presented as a gallery below.

Robert Northcutt’s substrates: Microfabricated substrates for supporting biotemplated PPy(DBS) membranes. These metal evaporated and flat substrates with various PPy-based membranes are used for topography imaging and electrochemical activity imaging

Northcutt, Thornton and Prof. Sundaresan: SECM electrode fabrication steps – from one of our failed attempts

Prof. Sundaresan’s research – SECM nanoelectrode (100nm) being polished in HEKA MHK-1 polisher

Prof. Sundaresan’s research – SECM nanoelectrode (100nm) being polished in HEKA MHK-1 polisher

Prof. Sundaresan’s research – Trimmed SECM electrodes pulled using P-2000 puller is trimmed with clippers and polished. These are shown before polishing

Prof. Sundaresan’s research – Trimmed SECM Electrode being polished

Prof. Sundaresan’s research – Clipped electrodes are polished to produce a smooth surface

Prof. Sundaresan’s research – SECM electrode (2um) used in the imaging of PPy(DBS) and biotemplated PPy(DBS) with piezoelectric plates for shear force-based topography imaging

Prof. Sundaresan’s research – SECM electrode prepared for imaging

Robert Northcutt – Simultaneous imaging of surface topography and electrochemical activity of PPy(DBS) surface

Robert Northcutt – Simultaneous imaging of surface topography and electrochemical activity of biotemplated PPy(DBS) surface

John Thornton – SECM electrode (2um)

John Thornton and Prof. Sundaresan’s research – SECM Nanoelectrode (15-20nm dia) prepared by John Thornton and polished by Prof. Sundaresan

Prof. Sundaresan’s research – SECM nanoelectrode (100nm) being polished in HEKA MHK polisher

Prof. Sundaresan’s research – SECM used for simultaneous surface topography and electrochemical activity imaging of IMPC

Prof. Sundaresan’s research – Surface topography and surface (in)activity of IPMC

Sensors and Actuators:Chemical B – Venugopal et al 2014