Combinatorial Screening of Cuprate Superconductors by Drop-On-Demand Inkjet Printing.

Combinatorial and high-throughput experimentation (HTE) is achieving more relevance in material design, representing a turning point in the process of accelerated discovery, development, and optimization of materials based on data-driven approaches. The versatility of drop-on-demand inkjet printing (IJP) allows performing combinatorial studies through fabrication of compositionally graded materials with high spatial precision, here by mixing superconducting REBCO precursor solutions with different rare earth (RE) elements. The homogeneity of combinatorial Y1-xGdxBa2Cu3O7 samples was designed with computational methods and confirmed by energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and high-resolution X-ray diffraction (XRD). We reveal the advantages of this strategy in the optimization of the epitaxial growth of high-temperature REBCO superconducting films using the novel transient liquid-assisted growth method (TLAG). Advanced characterization methods, such as in situ synchrotron growth experiments, are tailored to suit the combinatorial approach and demonstrated to be essential for HTE schemes. The experimental strategy presented is key for the attainment of large datasets for the implementation of machine learning backed material design frameworks.

Microfluidic platform for environmental contaminants sensing and degradation based on boron-doped diamond electrodes.

We have developed a lab-on-a-chip (LOC) platform for electrochemical detection and degradation of the pesticide atrazine (Atz). It is based on boron-doped diamond (BDD) electrodes and a competitive magneto-enzyme immunoassay (EIA) that enables high sensitivity. To detect the enzymatic reaction, we employed a BDD electrode modified with platinum nanoparticles (PtNPs), as a highly conductive catalytic transducer. Chronoamperometry revealed a limit of detection (LOD) of 3.5 pM for atrazine, which, to the best of our knowledge, is one of the lowest value published to date. Finally, we degraded Atz in the same platform, using a bare BDD electrode that features remarkable corrosion stability, a wide potential window, and much higher O2 overvoltage as compared to conventional electrodes. These characteristics enable the electrode to produce a greater amount of HO• on the anode surface than do conventional electrodes and consequently, to destroy the pollutant more rapidly. Our new LOC platform might prove interesting as a smart system for detection and remediation of diverse pesticides and other contaminants.

Magnetic Enzymatic Platform for Organophosphate Pesticide Detection Using Boron-doped Diamond Electrodes.

A simple and reliable enzymatic system for organophosporus pesticide detection was successfully developed, by exploiting the synergy between the magnetic beads collection capacity and the outstanding electrochemistry property of boron-doped diamond electrodes. The determination of an organophosphate pesticide, chlorpyrifos (CPF), was performed based on the inhibition system of the enzyme acetylcholinesterase bonded to magnetic beads through a biotin-streptavidin complex system. A better sensitivity was found for a system with magnetic beads in the concentration range of 10(-9) to 10(-5) M. The estimated limits of detection based on IC10 (10% acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibition) have been detected and optimized to be 5.7 × 10(-10) M CPF. Spiked samples of water of Yokohama (Japan) have been measured to validate the efficiency of the enzymatic system. The results suggested that the use of magnetic beads to immobilize biomolecules or biosensing agents is suitable to maintain the superiority of BDD electrodes.

Iridium oxide nanoparticle induced dual catalytic/inhibition based detection of phenol and pesticide compounds.

Environmental pollution control technology has a great demand for detection systems, particularly for pesticides and phenolic compounds. Moreover, analytical systems are highly required for the dual detection of different pollutants using the same platform. In that direction, a new, reliable, easy to use and disposable biosensor for the detection of catechol and chlorpyrifos is proposed. The designed biosensor with synergic properties between the high conductivity of iridium oxide nanoparticles, low-cost screen printed electrodes and the efficiency of tyrosinase shows broad linearity ranges for catechol and chlorpyrifos detection. Using this biosensor, very low limits of detection for catechol (0.08 µM) and chlorpyrifos (0.003 µM) are observed and recoveries of spiked tap and river water samples have also been studied showing very good recoveries.

Electrical transport and field-effect transistors using inkjet-printed SWCNT films having different functional side groups.

The electrical properties of random networks of single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) obtained by inkjet printing are studied. Water-based stable inks of functionalized SWNTs (carboxylic acid, amide, poly(ethylene glycol), and polyaminobenzene sulfonic acid) were prepared and applied to inkjet deposit microscopic patterns of nanotube films on lithographically defined silicon chips with a back-side gate arrangement. Source-drain transfer characteristics and gate-effect measurements confirm the important role of the chemical functional groups in the electrical behavior of carbon nanotube networks. Considerable nonlinear transport in conjunction with a high channel current on/off ratio of approximately 70 was observed with poly(ethylene glycol)-functionalized nanotubes. The positive temperature coefficient of channel resistance shows the nonmetallic behavior of the inkjet-printed films. Other inkjet-printed field-effect transistors using carboxyl-functionalized nanotubes as source, drain, and gate electrodes, poly(ethylene glycol)-functionalized nanotubes as the channel, and poly(ethylene glycol) as the gate dielectric were also tested and characterized.

Electrical transport through single-wall carbon nanotube-anodic aluminum oxide-aluminum heterostructures.

Aluminum foils were anodized in sulfuric acid solution to form thick porous anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) films of thickness approximately 6 microm. Electrodes of carboxyl-functionalized single-wall carbon nanotube (SWCNT) thin films were inkjet printed on the anodic oxide layer and the electrical characteristics of the as-obtained SWCNT-AAO-Al structures were studied. Nonlinear current-voltage transport and strong temperature dependence of conduction through the structure was measured. The microstructure and chemical composition of the anodic oxide layer was analyzed using transmission and scanning electron microscopy as well as x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Schottky emission at the SWCNT-AAO and AAO-Al interfaces allowed by impurity states in the anodic aluminum oxide film together with ionic surface conduction on the pore walls of AAO gives a reasonable explanation for the measured electrical conduction. Calcined AAO is proposed as a dielectric material for SWCNT-field effect transistors.