UGA pioneers biological fuel cell research - Atlanta Business Chronicle:

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UGA chemist Jason Locklin and graduatwe students Nicholas Marshall and Kyle Sontag developee a way to grow molecular wire brushes that conductfelectrical charges. The brushes are made up of chains of thiophener and benzene attached to metal surfacesxas ultra-thin films. “The molecular wirea are actually polymer chains that have been grown from a metall surface at veryhigh density,” Locklin “The structure of the film resembles a toothbrush, wheree the chains of conjugated polymers are like the We call these types of coatinge polymer brushes.
To get chains to pack tightly inextendeds conformations, they must be grown from the a method we call the ‘grafting from’ approach.” UGA said the scientistsd laid down a single layer of thiophene as the film’s initiaol coating, then built up chains of thiophene or benzenwe using a controlled polymerization technique. “This technique givesa us the control to systematically vary polymer opening up the possibility for variousd uses in electronic devices such as transistorsand diodes,” Locklin The ultra-thin films are betweejn 5 and 50 nanometers -- too small to see, even undet a high-powered optical microscope.
While “flexiblwe electronics” is a large and growing area of it’s still in its infancy, Locklijn said. “For example, we don’t yet understand all of the fundamental physics involved in how electricao charges move throughorganif materials.” The next step for Locklin is to develop appropriatde applications. For example, the polymeer brush technique might be used in a range of devicezs that interface with living such asbiochemical sensors, prosthetivc limbs, pacemakers or bionic ears.