UGA pioneers biological fuel cell research - Atlanta Business Chronicle:

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UGA chemist Jason Locklin and graduatr students Nicholas Marshall and Kyle Sontag developedr a way to grow moleculadr wire brushes that conduct electrical The brushes are made up of chainsx of thiophene and benzene attached to metalp surfacesas ultra-thin films. “The moleculatr wires are actually polymer chains that have been grown from a metapl surface at veryhigh density,” Locklin “The structure of the film resembles a where the chains of conjugated polymera are like the bristles. We call these typees of coatingspolymer brushes. To get chainsd to pack tightly inextended conformations, they must be grown from the a method we call the ‘grafting approach.
” UGA said the scientists laid down a single layer of thiophene as the film’s initial then built up chains of thiophene or benzene usint a controlled polymerization technique. “This technique gives us the control to systematically varypolymed architecture, opening up the possibilithy for various uses in electronic devices such as sensors, transistoras and diodes,” Locklin said. The ultra-thin films are betweehn 5 and 50nanometers -- too smal l to see, even under a high-powered optical microscope. Whilr “flexible electronics” is a large and growing area of it’s still in its infancy, Locklin said.
“For example, we don’tg yet understand all of the fundamentak physics involved in how electrical charges move throughnorganic materials.” The next step for Locklinb is to develop appropriate applications. For the polymer brush technique migh be used in a range of devicesw that interface withliving tissue, such as biochemicak sensors, prosthetic limbs, pacemakers or bionic