The flexible transparent electrode of this study used electrospinning and electroless deposition, which is a fabrication method to remove contact resistance at the nanofiber intersection and fabricate large-area electrode.
Four different organofunctional silanes were selected and deposited on chemically pretreated aluminum surfaces by immersion and electrodeposition techniques. The surface morphology, comparison of elemental constituents, and surface free energies of silane-coated aluminum were investigated by low voltage scanning electron microscopy (LVSEM), low voltage X-ray analysis (LVXA), and contact angle measurement, respectively. The initial bond strength and long-term durability were evaluated with epoxy adhesive by lap shear tests. The deposition of silane coupling agents enhanced the bond durability of aluminum/epoxy joints under heat and humidity conditions. Also the performance of silane coupling agents depended on the application method. The electrodeposition technique produced a more uniform coverage of silane on the aluminum surface and, thus, was generally more effective than the immersion technique in improving bond performance.
Microelectrodes are widely used for neural signal analysis because they can record high-resolution signals. In general, the smaller the size of the microelectrode for obtaining a highresolution signal, the higher the impedance and noise value of the electrodes. Therefore, to improve the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of neural signals, it is important to develop microelectrodes with low impedance and noise. In this research, an Au hierarchical nanostructure (AHN) was deposited to improve the electrochemical surface area (ECSA) of a microelectrode. Au nanostructures on different scales were deposited on the electrode surface in a hierarchical structure using an electrochemical deposition method. The AHN-modified microelectrode exhibited an average of 80% improvement in impedance compared to a bare microelectrode. Through electrochemical impedance spectroscopy analysis and impedance equivalent circuit modeling, the increase in the ECSA due to the AHN was confirmed. After evaluating the cell cytotoxicity of the AHN-modified microelectrode through an in vitro test, neural signals from rats were obtained in in vivo experiments. The AHN-modified microelectrode exhibited an approximate 9.79 dB improvement in SNR compared to the bare microelectrode. This surface modification technology is a post-treatment strategy used for existing fabricated electrodes, so it can be applied to microelectrode arrays and nerve electrodes made from various structures and materials.
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