title: Superior electrochemical performance of carbon nanotubes directly grown on sharp microelectrodes.
abstract: We report for the first time how coatings made by directly growing carbon nanotubes (CNTs) on the tip of neural microelectrodes outperform others made by electrodeposited CNT composites. Not only do they reduce microelectrode impedance but they also are able to inject high currents without degradation and are stable in time. These results suggest that they are excellent candidates for chronic applications especially when both neural recording and stimulation have to be performed by the same microelectrode.
authors.affiliation: Robotics, Brain and Cognitive Sciences Department, Italian Institute of Technology, Genoa, Italy.
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ansaldo
authors.forename: Elisa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Castagnola
authors.forename: Emma
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Maggiolini
authors.forename: Luciano
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Fadiga
authors.forename: Davide
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ricci
mesh_terms: D003460:Crystallization / Q000379:methods*; D004553:Electric Conductivity; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D008422:Materials Testing; D008839:Microelectrodes; D037742:Nanotubes, Carbon / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D010316:Particle Size
chemical_list: D037742:Nanotubes, Carbon