Interaction of Nanoparticles at the DEP Microelectrode Interface under High Conductance Conditions

Electrochem commun. 2009 Aug;11(8):1661-1666. doi: 10.1016/j.elecom.2009.06.033.

Abstract

The separation of nanoparticles from micron size particles in high conductance buffers was achieved using an AC dielectrophoretic (DEP) microarray device with hydrogel over-coated microelectrodes. While nanoparticles could be selectively concentrated into high field regions directly over the platinum microelectrodes, micro-bubbling and electrode darkening was also observed. For similar experiments using un-coated microelectrodes, SEM analysis showed severe erosion of the platinum microelectrodes and fusion of nanoparticles due to the aggressive electrochemistry.