Date added: 2026-02-25
The 38th Seminar of Advanced Materials Center
We warmly invite you to the 38th seminar of the Advanced Materials Center, which will take place on March 9th, 2026 (Monday) at 1:15 p.m. in NE Auditorium 1 (building 42, ETI B).
Prof. Greg M. Swain, Department of Chemistry, Michigan State University, USA, will present a talk entitled "Boron-Doped Diamond and Nitrogen-Incorporated Tetrahedral Amorphous Carbon Electrodes: Material Properties and Applications in Electrochemistry".
After the seminar, we traditionally invite you for pizza!
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Abstract:
The lecture presents a comprehensive overview of two advanced carbon-based electrode materials — boron-doped diamond (BDD) thin films and nitrogen-incorporated tetrahedral amorphous carbon (N-TAC) — with emphasis on their structural properties, electrochemical characteristics, and analytical applications. Both materials are discussed in the context of electron-transfer kinetics and mechanisms for soluble redox systems studied in aqueous, organic, and ionic liquid electrolytes. Key factors governing electrochemical performance — including surface chemistry, microstructural features, and doping level — are critically addressed. Selected applications highlight the versatility of these platforms in areas such as trace-level detection of pharmaceuticals and environmental contaminants, point-of-care diagnostics based on exhaled breath condensate analysis, and neuroanalytical chemistry involving the real-time monitoring of key neurotransmitters. The lecture draws on decades of research conducted at Michigan State University, where Prof. Swain has established BDD and N-TAC electrodes as benchmark materials for high-performance electroanalysis, combining exceptional chemical stability, low background current, and a wide electrochemical potential window.