Jeffrey Shepherd

     Dr. Shepherd received his undergraduate education at Laurentian University between 1995 and 1999. He obtained an honours B.Sc. in Chemistry with an undergraduate thesis that focused on the characterization of non-linear dynamics observed in electrochemical systems.

     In 2000, Dr. Shepherd undertook a PhD in Chemistry at the University of British Columbia under the supervision of Prof. Dan Bizzotto. His studies resulted in the development of a new spectroelectrochemical method for characterizing lipid-like monolayers adsorbed on electrode surfaces. The in situ method combines the techniques of epi-fluorescence microscopy and electrochemistry.

     In 2005, he completed a postdoctoral project at McGill in the lab of Prof. Bruce Lennox. During this time, he studied the role of defects in alkylthiol self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) in the application of biosensors. His research project used the electrochemical detection of dopamine in the presence of ascorbic acid as a model system to test the application of defective monolayers as potential sensors.

    In 2006, Dr. Shepherd was hired as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Laurentian University. He is currently an Associate Professor and is running a research laboratory focused on characterizing the interaction of organic molecules at the metal interface.

• PhD - University of British Columbia
• BSc - Laurentian University

     Research projects are primarily focused on the electrochemical characterization and manipulation of surfaces that are modified with organic molecules. We use electrochemical methods and high resolution surface probes to manipulate and characterize the metal/organic interface in a variety of environments.

Current projects include:

1) the development of an electrochemical method to uniquely pattern metal electrodes with heterogeneous binary mixed monolayers for their application as chemical and biochemical sensors

2) the study and characterization of organic leveling agents on Cu and Zn surfaces under electrowinning conditions

3) the exploration of organic molecules as alternative leaching agents for gold

• 2005 - Student Award from Canadian Section of the Electrochemical Society.

• Mahboob, S.S., Swanson, K., Gonzalez, J.A., Shepherd, J.L; On the use of atomic force microscopy and scaling analysis to quantify the roughness of zinc electrodeposits produced from an industrial acid sulfate electrolyte containing glue. Journal of Applied Electrochemistry. (2016), 46(5), 539-549
• Stolar, R. B., Guerra, E., Shepherd, J. L.; The Influence of Thiolate Readsorption on the Quality of Mixed Monolayers Formed through and Electrochemical Method. Langmuir (2015), 31, 2157-2166.
• Xu, L., McGraw, L-W., Gao, F., Grundy, M., Ye Z., Gu, Z., Sepherd, J. L.; Production of High-Concentration Graphene Dispersions in Low-Boiling-Point Organic Solvents by Liquid-Phase Noncovalent Exfoliation of Graphite with a Hyperbranched Polyethylene and Formation of Graphene/Ethylene Copolymer Composites. Journal of Physical Chemistry C (2013), 117(20), 10730-10742.
• Smith, S. R., Han, S., Zhe, W., Shepherd, J. L.; An Electrochemical Approach to Fabricate a Heterogeneous Mixed Monolayer on Planar Polycrystalline Au and its Characterization with Lateral Force Microscopy. Journal of Electroanalytical Chemistry 666, (2012) 76-84.
• Smith, S.R.; Guerra, E.; Siemann, S.; Shepherd J.L.; Au dissolution during the anodic response of short-chain alkylthiols with polycrystalline Au electrodes. Electrochimica Acta, 56, (2011) 8291-8298.
• Guerra, E.; and Shepherd, J. L.; The effect of polytetrafluorethylene on pressure oxidation of nickelferous pyrrhotite. Hydrometallurgy, 106 (3-4), (2011) 179-182.
• Scott, A. F.; Gray-Munro, J., Shepherd J. L.; Influence of Coating Bath Chemistry on the Deposition of 3-Mercaptopropyltrimethoxysilane Films Deposited on Magnesium Alloy. Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, 343, (2010) 474-483
• Lemay, D. M. and Shepherd J. L.; Electrochemical Fabrication of a Heterogeneous Binary SAM on Polycrystalline Au. Electrochimica Acta 54 (2008) 388–393.