Impedance spectroscopy of highly ordered nano-porous electrodes based on Au-AAO (anodic aluminum oxide) structure.

Electrochemical measurements using the microelectrodes are increasingly utilized for the label-free detection of the small amount of biological materials such as DNA, protein, and cells. However, the interfacial electrode impedance increases and may hinder the detection of weak signals as the size of electrode decreases. To enhance the measurement sensitivity while reducing the electrode size, in this study, microelectrodes employing a nanoporous structure were fabricated and characterized by using electrical impedance spectroscopy. We made the highly ordered honeycomb nanoporous structure of Anodic Aluminum Oxide (AAO) by electrochemical anodizing and formed Au layer on the surface of AAO (Au/AAO) by electroless Au plating method. The electrical characteristics of the fabricated Au/AAO electrodes were evaluated by using de Levie's model derived for the pore electrodes. As a result, the interfacial electrode impedance of the fabricated Au/AAO electrodes was 2-3 order lower than the value of the planar electrodes at frequencies below 1 kHz. It implies this nanoporous electrode could be directly applied to label free detection of biomaterials.