Electrochemical deposition of molecules on cerium oxide films

We propose to study the bio or organic molecule–inorganic material systems with a potential for bioapplications and organic electronics where the molecule is directly bound to an inorganic surface. The main attention will be paid to CeO₂ as a material with tremendous perspectives in nanotechnology. The molecules will be chosen within these classes: thymine, adenine, etc. (nucleobases of DNA), glycine, histidine, etc. (amino acids), and phenylphosphonic acid, etc. (organic molecules with a phosphate linker). The method of electrochemical molecular deposition will be developed using the three electrode electrochemical cell. The aim is to characterize the adsorption geometry of the molecule, its bonding to a cerium oxide surface and the involvement of a substrate in the interface formation. For this purpose we will apply the photoelectron spectroscopy based techniques with use of synchrotron radiation. The project will show the applicability of the results from the model systems prepared and studied in-situ to the real ex-situ prepared systems with the focus on effects introduced by the presence of working solution and applied potential on the molecular bonding to the surfaces of cerium oxide films.

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