Solvent Effects on the Structure−Property Relationship of Redox-Active Self-Assembled Nanoparticle−Polyelectrolyte−Surfactant Composite Thin Films: Implications for the Generation of Bioelectrocatalytic Signals in Enzyme-Containing Assemblies

MARIA LORENA CORTEZ; M. CEOLIN; L. CUELLAR CAMACHO; E. DONATH ; S. E. MOYA; FERNANDO BATTAGLINI; OMAR AZZARONI

ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES

AMER CHEMICAL SOC

Lugar: Washington; Año: 2017 vol. 9 p. 1119 - 1128

1944-8244

The search for strategies to improve theperformance of bioelectrochemical platforms based on supramolecular materialshas received increasing attention within the materials science community, wherethe main objective is to develop low cost and flexible routes usingself-assembly as a key enabling process. Important contributions to theperformance of such bioelectrochemical devices have been made based on theintegration and supramolecular organization of redox-activepolyelectrolyte-surfactant complexes on electrode supports. Here, we examinethe influence of the processing solvent on the interplay between the supramolecularmeso-organization and the bioelectrochemical properties of redox-activeself-assembled nanoparticle-polyelectrolyte-surfactant nanocomposite thinfilms. Our studies reveal that the solvent used in processing thesupramolecular films and the presence of metal nanoparticles have substantialinfluence not only in determining the mesoscale organization and morphologicalcharacteristics of the film but also has a strong influence on the efficiencyand performance of the bioelectrochemical system. In particular, a higherbioelectrochemical response is observed when nanocomposite supramolecular filmswere cast from aqueous solutions. These observations seem to be associated withthe fact that the use aqueous solvents increases the hydrophilicity of the film,thus favoring the access of glucose, particularly at low concentrations. Webelieve that these results improve our current understanding of supramolecularnanocomposite materials generated via polyelectrolyte-surfactant complexes, inorder to use the processing conditions as a variable to improve performance ofbioelectrochemical devices.