Preparation of high-quality palladium nanocubes heavily deposited on nitrogen-doped graphene nanocomposites and their application for enhanced electrochemical sensing

Yu Shen; Dejiang Rao; Wushuang Bai; Qinglin Sheng; Jianbin Zheng

doi:10.1016/j.talanta.2016.12.067

Preparation of high-quality palladium nanocubes heavily deposited on nitrogen-doped graphene nanocomposites and their application for enhanced electrochemical sensing

Talanta. 2017 Apr 1:165:304-312. doi: 10.1016/j.talanta.2016.12.067. Epub 2016 Dec 25.

Authors

Yu Shen¹, Dejiang Rao¹, Wushuang Bai¹, Qinglin Sheng¹, Jianbin Zheng²

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Analytical Science, Shaanxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Electroanalytical Chemistry, Northwest University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710069, China.
² Institute of Analytical Science, Shaanxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Electroanalytical Chemistry, Northwest University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710069, China. Electronic address: zhengjb@nwu.edu.cn.

PMID: 28153258
DOI: 10.1016/j.talanta.2016.12.067

Abstract

A nanocomposite of high-quality palladium nanocubes (PdNCs) decorated nitrogen-doped graphene (NGE/PdNC) was successfully prepared by using bromide ion as a capping agent and polyvinyl pyrrolidone as a stabilizer. The morphology and composition of NGE/PdNC nanocomposites were characterized by field emission-scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and Raman spectra. To explore the application of NGE/PdNC nanocomposites in electrochemistry, the electrocatalytic response to nitrite at a NGE/PdNC-based electrode was investigated. Thus, a highly sensitive and selective electrochemical sensor for the detection of nitrite was constructed based on a glassy carbon electrode modified with the NGE/PdNC nanocomposites. The electrochemical behavior of this nanocomposites was studied by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry. The electrochemical investigations proved that the NGE/PdNC nanocomposites exhibited good electrocatalytic performance for the oxidation of nitrite, including a wide linear range from 5.0×10^-7 to 1.51×10^-3molL^-1, a high sensitivity of 342.4μAmM^-1cm^-2 and a low detection limit of 0.11μmolL^-1 at the signal-to-noise ratio of 3 (S/N=3). This non-enzymatic sensor also showed a good reproducibility and stability. The obtained NGE/PdNC nanocomposites may be a potential composite for applying in the field of other electrochemical sensing, catalysis and optics.

Keywords: Electrocatalysis; Electrochemical sensor; Nitrite; Nitrogen-doped graphene; Palladium nanocubes.