A Cu I complex of 3-ethynyl-phenanthroline covalently immobilized to an azide-modified glassy carbon surface is an active electrocatalyst for the 4-electron reduction of O 2 to H 2 O. The rate of O 2 reduction is 2 nd order in Cu coverage at moderate overpotential, suggesting that two Cu I species are necessary for efficient 4-electron reduction of O 2 . Mechanisms for O 2 reduction are proposed that are consistent with the observations for this covalently immobilized system and previously reported results for a similar physisorbed Cu I system. Discrete copper complexes are potential catalysts for the 4-electron reduction of O 2 to water in ambient temperature fuel cells as evidenced by Cu-containing fungal laccase enzymes that rapidly reduce O 2 directly to water at a trinuclear Cu active site at remarkably positive potentials. [1][2][3][4][5] Several groups have studied molecular Cu complexes immobilized onto electrode surfaces as an entry into the study of 4-electron O 2 reduction. [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19] In particular, physisorbed Cu I (1,10-phenanthroline), Cu(phen P ), reduces O 2 quantitatively by 4 electrons and 4 protons to water. [8][9][10] Anson, et al., determined that this reaction was 1 st order in Cu coverage, suggestive of a mononuclear Cu site as the active catalyst. 8,10 In the present study, similar Cu I complexes are covalently attached to a modified glassycarbon electrode surface to form a species denoted Cu(phen C ), and the effect of Cu coverage on the kinetics of electrocatalytic O 2 reduction is investigated. At low overpotentials, we observe a 2 nd order dependence of the O 2 -reduction rate on the coverage of Cu(phen C ), from which we infer that two physically proximal Cu(phen C ) bind O 2 to form a binuclear Cu 2 O 2 species required for 4-electron reduction. We suggest that a similar binuclear species also forms in the case of Cu(phen P ) 8,10 but that rate-limiting binding of O 2 to the first Cu(phen P ) NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript followed by rapid surface diffusion of a second Cu(phen P ) has, until now, obscured the binuclear nature of the reaction.The covalent attachment of 3-ethynyl-1,10-phenanthroline to an azide-modified glassy carbon electrode to form Cu(phen C ) relies on the Cu I -catalyzed cycloaddition of azide and ethynyl groups to form a triazole linker, commonly referred to as the click reaction. 20,21 The electrode is azide terminated by treating a roughly-ground, heat-treated glassy carbon surface with a solution of IN 3 in hexanes, a procedure modified from that first described by Devadoss and Chidsey. 22 An XPS survey of the azide-modified surface shows two N 1s peaks at 399 eV and 403 eV in a 2:1 ratio attributable to the azide nitrogens. [22][23][24] Upon exposure to 3-ethynyl-1,10-phenanthroline under the click reaction conditions 25 , the 403-eV peak disappears and the 399-eV peak broadens, consistent with the formation of the 1,2,3-triazole linker. 22,24 XPS peaks at 934 and ...

We have developed a strategy for preparing tethered lipid bilayer membrane patches on solid surfaces by DNA hybridization. In this way, the tethered membrane patch is held at a controllable distance from the surface by varying the length of the DNA used. Two basic strategies are described. In the first, single-stranded DNA strands are immobilized by click chemistry to a silica surface, whose remaining surface is passivated to prevent direct assembly of a solid supported bilayer. Then giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) displaying the antisense strand, using a DNA-lipid conjugate developed in earlier work (Chan, Lengerich et al. 2008), are allowed to tether, spread and rupture to form tethered bilayer patches. In the second, a supported lipid bilayer displaying DNA using the DNA-lipid conjugate is first assembled on the surface. Then GUVs displaying the antisense strand are allowed to tether, spread and rupture to form tethered bilayer patches. The essential difference between these methods is that the tethering hybrid DNA is immobile in the first, while it is mobile in the second. Both strategies are successful; however, with mobile DNA hybrids as tethers, the patches are unstable, while in the first strategy stable patches can be formed. In the case of mobile tethers, if different length DNA hybrids are present, lateral segregation by length occurs and can be visualized by fluorescence interference contrast microscopy making this an interesting model for interactions that occur in cell junctions. In both cases, lipid mobility is high and there is a negligible immobile fraction. Thus, these architectures offer a flexible platform for the assembly of lipid bilayers at a well-defined distance from a solid support. KeywordsTethered lipid membrane; surface-immobilized DNA; Giant unilamellar vesicles Supported lipid bilayers (SLBs) have been widely used as a model for cell membranes (Sackmann 1996;Chan and Boxer 2007) and to investigate membrane components including proteins in a simpler context apart from the complex cellular environment. SLBs are assembled by Langmuir-Blodgett techniques or spontaneous fusion of unilamellar vesicles on carefully prepared surfaces, usually hydrophilic solid supports, such as glass (Seu, Pandey et al. 2007), silica, mica (Richter, Berat et al. 2006), or TiO 2 (Rossetti, Bally et al. 2005). Although SLBs have the advantages of simple formation, easy handling and are well-suited for investigation by a suite of surface sensitive methods due to their planar geometry, the close proximity of the lower leaflet to the solid support often leads to unfavorable interactions with integral membrane proteins. Recognizing this limitation, many groups have described methods to separate the © 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. *Corresponding Author: Tel.: 1-650-723-4482; Fax: 1-650-723-4817; E-mail: sboxer@stanford.edu. Publisher's Disclaimer: This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early versi...

A convenient, laboratory-scale method for the vapor deposition of dense siloxane monolayers onto oxide substrates was demonstrated. This method was studied and optimized at 110 °C under reduced pressure with the vapor of tetradecyltris(deuteromethoxy)silane, (CD(3)O)(3)Si(CH(2))(13)CH(3), and water from the dehydration of MgSO(4)·7H(2)O. Ellipsometric thicknesses, water contact angles, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and electrochemical capacitance measurements were used to probe monolayer densification. The CD(3) stretching mode in the FTIR spectrum was monitored as a function of the deposition time and amounts of silane and water reactants. This method probed the unhydrolyzed methoxy groups on adsorbed silanes. Excess silane and water were necessary to achieve dense, completely hydrolyzed monolayers. In the presence of sufficient silane, an excess of water above the calculated stoichiometric amount was necessary to hydrolyze all methoxy groups and achieve dense monolayers. The excess water was partially attributed to the reversibility of the hydrolysis of the methoxy groups.

We demonstrate a simple approach for fabricating nanoelectrode ensembles ͑NEEs͒ for nanostructures exhibiting conical morphologies. The fabrication concept utilizes the tapered geometries of carbon nanopipettes ͑CNPs͒ and entails one simple, dipcoating step with an insulating polymer to engineer their spatial distribution. After dip-coating, the CNPs in the NEE are separated by several micrometers. Uncoated CNP arrays exhibit peak-shaped behavior in cyclic voltammetry, whereas polymer-coated NEEs yield steady-state, sigmoidal voltammograms over a wide range of scan rates. As-synthesized CNPs could also be employed as templates for synthesizing conical morphologies of other materials to be incorporated into NEEs.

We present the synthesis of two novel morphologies for carbon tubular structures: Nanopipettes and Micropipes. The synthesis procedures for both these structures are both unique and different from each other and the conventional methods used for carbon nanotubes.Carbon nanopipettes, open at both ends, are made up of a central nanotube (~10-20 nm) surrounded by helical sheets of graphite. Thus nanopipettes have an outer conical structure, with a base size of about a micron, that narrows down to about 10-20 nm at the tip. Due to their unique morphology, the outer walls of the nanopipettes continuously expose edge planes of graphite, giving a very stable and reversible electrochemical response for detecting neurological compounds such as dopamine. The synthesis of carbon nanopipettes is based on high temperature nucleation and growth of carbon nanotubes under conditions of hydrogen etching during growth.Carbon micropipes, on the other hand, are tubular structures whose internal diameters range from a few nanometers to a few microns with a constant wall thickness of 10-20 nm. In addition to tuning the internal diameters, the conical angles of these structures could also be changed during synthesis. Due to their larger inner diameters and thin walls, both the straight and conical micro-tubular structures are suitable for microfluidic devices such as throttle valves, micro-reactors, and distribution channels. The synthesis of carbon micro-tubular structures is based on the wetting behavior of gallium with carbon during growth. The contact angle between gallium and the carbon wall determines the conical angle of the structure. By varying the contact angle, one can alter the conical angles from 40 0 to -15 0 , and synthesize straight tubes using different N 2 /O 2 dosing compositions. An 'n-step' dosing sequence at various stages of growth resulted in 'n-staged' morphologies for carbon micro-tubular structures such as funnels, tube-on-cone, Yjunctions and dumbbells.