UNLABELLED The use of biomolecules as oxidants for the synthesis of conducting polymers provides an important tool for the control of polymer properties. Using PEDOT PSS as a representative conducting polymer, we compare a set of heme proteins (soybean peroxidase, cytochrome c, and horseradish peroxidase) used as oxidants. The resulting PEDOT PSS was characterized with visible and near IR s...

The paper presents and discusses a method to achieve beneficial electrochemical effects mediated by interfaces in an ionic conducting polymer matrix. The beneficial effects include enhanced ionic transport, catalysis of anodic oxidation reaction, and stabilization of the lithium-electrolyte interface in lithium-based electrochemical cells. Polyethylene oxide (PEO) doped with LiN(SO2CF2CF3)2 (Li...

In nearly all cases, electrophoresis in gels is driven via the electrolysis of water at the electrodes, where the process consumes water and produces electrochemical by-products. We have previously demonstrated that π-conjugated polymers such as poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) can be placed between traditional metal electrodes and an electrolyte to mitigate electrolysis in liquid (capi...

Charge transport in conducting polymers ~polyaniline and polypyrrole! bridged between two gold nanoelectrodes separated with a nanoscale gap ~varying from ;1 nm to a few tens of nm was studied by controlling the polymer redox states electrochemically. In sharp contrast to the macroscopic samples, the conductance switches abruptly between insulating ~off! and conducting ~on! states like a telegr...

Brain-machine interfaces are a technology with the potential to fundamentally change the way people interact with their environment, but their adoption has been hampered by the invasiveness of conventional implanted cortical microelectrode arrays. Llinás et al. have proposed a novel design for intravascular nanowire electrode arrays, which promise to be less invasive than current technology. Ea...

Conducting polymers hold significant promise as electrode coatings; however, they are characterized by inherently poor mechanical properties. Blending or producing layered conducting polymers with other polymer forms, such as hydrogels, has been proposed as an approach to improving these properties. There are many challenges to producing hybrid polymers incorporating conducting polymers and hyd...

Polyelectrolyte multilayers built via the layer-by-layer (LbL) method has been one of the most promising systems in the field of materials science. Layered structures can be constructed by the adsorption of various polyelectrolyte species onto the surface of a solid or liquid material by means of electrostatic interaction. The thickness of the adsorbed layers can be tuned precisely in the nanom...