The ability to modify and control the surface properties of a material by applying a film or coating is important for many applications, such as corrosion protection, catalysis, dye-sensitized solar cells, and sensors. Developing straightforward routes to attach organic molecules, metal complexes, catalysts, and polymers to a variety of substrates via robust, well-defined covalent bonds is an important target. One powerful method for introducing molecular or polymeric layers onto surfaces is electrografting, in which an electrochemically-generated radical reacts with a substrate to form a covalent bond. The majority of studies in this field utilize aryl diazonium salts as the radical precursors. Our research describes the use of new electrografting precursor molecules: organotrifluoroborates and boronic acids, to prepare derivatized surfaces. The preparation methods and characterization of modified glassy carbon substrates using electrochemistry, vibrational spectroscopy, and microscopy techniques will be presented, as well as efforts towards our larger goal to attach electroactive metal complexes and organometallic catalysts to surfaces.

Electrografting organoboron compounds for applications in materials chemistry and catalysis

251st National Meeting (2016)

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