Date of Award
4-2007
Degree Name
Master of Science
Department
Chemistry
First Advisor
Dr. Dongil Lee
Second Advisor
Dr. Subra Muralidharan
Third Advisor
Dr. Brian C. Tripp
Access Setting
Masters Thesis-Open Access
Abstract
The focus of this thesis is the scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) investigation of the electron transport in lipid monolayers and in films of gold nanoparticles. The quality and stability of lipid monolayers were characterized by various analytical techniques such as fluorescence microscopy and spectroscopy, contact angle, and electrochemistry using a monolayer modified electrode. In the SECM measurement, the monolayer electron transport was not detected. The microscopic monolayer quality turned out to be not suitable for studying the electron transport.
The conductivity of mono layer protected gold clusters (MPCs) with different core sizes (1-3 nm diameter) were investigated using SECM. These AuMPCs were characterized by UV-VIS, voltammetry, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). In SECM measurements, the film conductivity has been extracted from the feedback currents. The conductivity appears to be dependent on the MPC core size, but the dependence becomes weaker with core size dispersity. The disordering effect on the film conductivity was investigated along with the core size effect.
Recommended Citation
Stoycheva, Violeta, "Development of Scanning Electrochemical Microscopy for Studying Electron Transport in Lipid Monolayers and Gold Nanoparticle Films" (2007). Masters Theses. 4410.
https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/masters_theses/4410