Berlin 2012 – scientific programme

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HL: Fachverband Halbleiterphysik

HL 11: Carbon: Nanotubes, Diamond and Silicon Carbid

HL 11.5: Talk

Monday, March 26, 2012, 12:45–13:00, EW 203

Charge transfer in diamond-based biohybrid systems for energy harvesting applications — •Michael Metzger, Roberta Caterino, Matthias Sachsenhauser, Martin Stutzmann, and Jose Antonio Garrido — Walter Schottky Institut, Technische Universität München, Germany

The understanding of charge transfer on the nanometer scale is of fundamental interest for a multitude of applications like molecular electronics, sensing, and catalysis. In addition, the energy conversion processes involved in photosynthesis represent a blueprint for future nanoscaled bioelectronics.

Our research aims at the immobilization of photosynthetic reaction centers (RCs) on diamond substrates for the study of direct charge transfer under photo excitation. For the covalent immobilization of RCs, we will discuss a novel functionalization concept which has been extensively investigated using a variety of redox species. Aminocaproic acid molecules were grafted onto H-terminated boron-doped polycrystalline diamond surfaces in order to introduce functional carboxylic groups which can be used for tethering redox species and biomolecules via covalent amide bonds. Cyclic voltammetry, square wave voltammetry, and electric impedance spectroscopy were employed to characterize the grafting of several molecules and biomolecules such as aminomethyl ferrocene, horseradish peroxidase, and cytochrome c. We have investigated the spectrally resolved photocurrent of RCs immobilized on boron-doped polycrystalline diamond, as well as on gold substrates.