Professor Richard Compton

It has long been known that the processes occurring at the electrode-electrolyte interface can be controlled by chemically modifying the electrode surface so as to impart desired properties. Here we are more interested in modifying the shape and structure of this interface, to impart desired properties by controlling the physical, as well as the chemical, processes occurring at the electrode surface. By using chemically modified glassy carbon microspheres covalently assembled onto an electrode, we can impart "diffusional protection" to the electrode to selectively adsorb an interfering species, so signals from the analyte of interest can be measured at the underlying electrode without interference. This is similar to the old idea of having a permselective membrane but, unlike a permselective membrane, diffusional access of the analyte is not hindered at all.

2. What has motivated you to conduct this work? 

Recently we have published a series of papers developing chemically modified carbon microparticles for the removal of toxic heavy metal ions from water. These papers were highlighted in the RSC journals Chem. Commun. and in J. Mater. Chem. and this research originally stemmed from a wider research interest in chemically attaching such microparticles onto an electrode in a controlled fashion. This work is a product of both those research interests, combining the ability to assemble carbon microspheres onto the electrode as mono or multilayers, whilst simultaneously using the same chemical modification strategy that also imparts an ability to adsorb heavy metal ions

3. Where do you see this work developing in the future? 

The example given in this work serves to illustrate how careful design of the chemistry, shape and structure of interfaces can impart significant advantageous properties to that interface, in this case that of diffusional protection. We believe this concept has wider applications to many other fields such as materials science, corrosion, and even to the study of biological interfaces and not just to the field of electrochemistry. We see research into "designer interfaces" incorporating chemical architectures across the nano-micro-macro-scales as a highly exciting development in these fields.

4. Are there any particular challenges facing future research in this area? 

The design and construction of chemical architectures and designer interfaces, particularly on the nano and micro scale often requires careful control of reaction conditions and the manipulation of extremely small objects. An understanding of how to manufacture, control and manipulate objects on the nanoscale is a major problem for very many areas of science, and is being tackled vigorously on many fronts, including in our own laboratory.