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Mira JosowiczPrincipal Research Scientist Office: Boggs Building Phone: 404-894-4032 Fax: 404-894-7452 |
B.S., Politechnika Slaska, Gliwice, Poland; Ph.D. Technical University Munich, Germany; Postdoctoral University of Utah, Salt Lake City; Research Scientist at University of Bundeswehr in Munich, Germany, Research Scientist at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Washington.
First prize of the Polish Undergraduate Research Project, Feodor-Lynnen-Humboldt Research Scholarship
Research Interests
Design of conducting polymers for solid-state applications.
The general area of my research involves studies of materials for solid-state electrochemical sensors. It is expected that these materials contain three-dimensionally distributed redox centers and host mobile counterions that are providing charge balance during electron transfer. Potential applications of solid-state materials are related to the principles and analytical aspects of electrochemical devices such as batteries and redox supercapacitors, molecular electronics, solid-state potentiometric sensors. The idea to design conducting polymers in a controlled manner is challenging. It is important to be able to configure molecules in such a way that they can control interactions of interest, and be manipulated through hydrogen bonding, electron donor/acceptor interactions or short-range molecular recognition. The following approaches have been investigated so far: doping with weak acid or with photochemically generated acid, controlled self-organization of the polymer using e.g. uv-irradiation, controlled formation of metal-cluster in the conducting polymer, etc.
Characterization of conducting polymers and their composites. Characterizations of conducting polymers is done by electrochemical and, spectroscopic techniques such as uv-vis, FTIR, ATR-FTIR, by photoacoustic spectroscopy, XPS, work function measurements with Kelvin Probe or with field effect transistor having as a gate the conducting polymer material. Furthermore, transmission microscope, differential scanning calorimetry and X-ray diffraction techniques can also used. The goal is to learn about the origin of the physicochemical-changes in the polymer matrix by the guest molecules. The correlation between the changes in the polymer with the changes in its properties allows us to study the parameters that govern the primary doping and later determine the interaction between the host matrix and the guest molecules.
Preparation and properties of composite gel materials.
Gel materials prepared using two components - electronically and ionically conducting polymers such as polyaniline and room temperature ionic liquid (RTIL)- are of great interest to chemical sensors. They can enhance the response time of a sensor due to faster diffusion of inert analytes into the bulk of the composite material. Furthermore, the presence of RTIL in the material can improve it long-term stability.
Testing and calibration of materials towards their responses to gaseous analytes. The testing of the developed layers for gas sensor applications is conducted using gas- mixing system that allows dilutions from 1:10 to 1:1000. The testing is conducted on layers deposited on Kelvin Probes specimens or on sensor array based on eight field effect transistors.
Representative Publications
Gel hybrid material as the sensing gate of CHEMFET, M. India, A. Jonke, J. Janata, M. Josowicz, ECS Transactions (2009), 19(6).
Field-effect transistors with mixed ionic-electronic gate, A. Saheb, M. Josowicz, J. Janata, Electroanalysis (2009), 21(3-5), 290-294.
Controlled Electropolymerization of 1-Pyrrolyl-10-decanephosphonic Acid: An Anion Barrier Layer “, R.West, M. Josowicz, J. Janata, I. Minet, L. Hevesi, J. Electrochem.
Soc., (2009), 156(4), F55-F59.
Nickel-63 Microirradiators J. Steeb, M. Josowicz, J. Janata, Anal. Chem., (2009), 81(5), 1976-1981.
Organic semiconductors in potentiometric gas sensors J. Janata, M. Josowicz, J. Solid State Electrochem., (2009), 13(1), 41-49.
Controlling size of gold clusters in polyaniline from top-down and from bottom-up," A. Saheb, J. A.Smith, J., M Josowicz, J. Janata, D.R.Baer, M.H. Engelhard, J. Electroanal. Chem. (2008), 621(2), 238-244.
In situ electropolymerization of DNA-templated aniline assemblies on a gold surface
W. Chen, M. Josowicz, B. Datta, G, Schuster, J. Janata, Electrochemical and Solid-State Letters (2008), 11(6), E11-E14.
“Chemically sensitive field-effect transistor with polyaniline-ionic liquid composite gate A. Saheb, M. Josowicz, J. Janata, Anal. Chem. (2008), 80(11), 4214-4219.
“Control of chloride ion exchange by DNA hybridization at polypyrrole electrode “,
T.Aiyejorun, L. Thompson, J.Kowalik, M. Josowicz, Mira, J. Janata, Perspectives in Bioanalysis (2005), 1(Electrochemistry of Nucleic Acids and Proteins), 331-344.
Composites of Intrinsically Conducting Polymers as Sensing Nanomaterials
D. Hatchett, M. Josowicz, Chemical Reviews (2008), 108(2), 746-769.
"Stabilization of electronic properties of (1R)-(-)-10-camphorsulfonic acid doped polyaniline by UV irradiation I. Sasaki, J. Janata, M. Josowicz, Polymer Degradation and Stability (2007), 92(7), 1408-1416.
Reference electrode for ionic liquids A. Saheb, J. Janata, Josowicz, M. Electroanalysis (2007), 19(11), 1222, and (2006) 18 (4), 405-409.
Stabilization of electronic properties of (1R)-(-)-10-camphorsulfonic acid doped polyaniline by UV irradiation I. Sasaki, J. Janata, M. Josowicz, Polymer Degradation and Stability (2007), 92(7), 1408-1416.
Label-free detection of DNA hybridization by cyclic voltammetry: An advanced undergraduate analytical chemistry laboratory experiment, T. Aiyejorun, J. Kowalik, J.; Janata, M. Josowicz, Journal of Chemical Education (2006), 83(8), 1208-1211
Electropolymerization of aniline from ionic liquids, A. Saheb, M. Josowicz, J. Janata, BR Mattes, Proceedings - Electrochemical Society (2005), 2004-18 (Electrode Processes VII), 192-202.