Hydrogen peroxide sensor based on carbon nanowalls grown by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition

Abstract

Fabrication of an electrochemical sensor for hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) detection was demonstrated. H 2 O 2 is a major messenger molecule in various redox-dependent cellular signaling transductions. Therefore, sensitive detection of H 2 O 2 is greatly important in health inspection and environmental protection. Carbon nanowalls (CNWs) are composed of few-layer graphenes standing almost vertically on a substrate forming a three-dimensional structure. In this work, CNWs were used as a platform for H 2 O 2 sensing, which is based on the large surface area of conducting carbon and surface decoration with platinum (Pt) nanoparticles (NPs). CNWs were grown on carbon fiber paper (CFP) by inductively coupled plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition to increase the surface area. Then, the CNW surface was decorated with Pt-NPs by the reduction of H 2 PtCl 6 . Cyclic voltammetry results indicate that the Pt-decorated CNW/CFP electrode possesses excellent electrocatalytic activity for the reduction of H 2 O 2 . Amperometric responses indicate the high-sensitivity detection capability of the Pt-decorated CNW/CFP electrode for H 2 O 2 .

Electrochemical Reaction in Hydrogen Peroxide and Structural Change of Platinum Nanoparticle-Supported Carbon Nanowalls Grown Using Plasma-Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition

“…It provides excellent limits of detection, good linear range, and reproducibility. In our previous study using Pt-CNW electrode, it was confirmed that the morphology of Pt-CNWs hardly changed after repeated amperometry measurements up to 1.5 mM of H 2 O 2 concentration more than 10 times [14]. On the other hand, a H 2 O 2 treatment with an extremely high concentration of 9.8 M for a long period (4 days) induced morphological changes of CNW surfaces.…”

“…H 2 O 2 is electroactive on catalytic metals such as Pt, although it is considered to be inactive on many typical carbon-based electrodes at room temperature. For example, when CNTs were used as a support material for Pt nanoparticles, a minimum detection of 10 nM was reported [14]. Similarly, Pt nanoparticle-decorated carbon nanowalls (Pt-CNWs) are also a promising candidate as a novel catalytic electrode with a very large specific surface area [14].…”

On the Structural, Morphological, and Electrical Properties of Carbon Nanowalls Obtained by Plasma-Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition

“…Initially, the SiO 2 /Ti substrates were ultrasonically cleaned by acetone, methanol, and deionized water; each procedure was 10-minute long, and they were dried under nitrogen (N 2 ) flow. The use of platinum as the electrode for various junctions with CNWs is frequent because the Pt/CNWs have a very stable chemical and physical interface [28]. The SiO 2 substrates have 2 cm × 2 cm dimension, p-type electrical conductivity, and (100) preferential growth direction.…”

N-Doped Carbon NanoWalls for Power Sources

“…Crucial properties of CNWs are their high specific surface area, high electrical conductivity along graphite layers, and a total thickness of less than 5 µm. CNWs can be synthesized on the surface of different metals, semiconductors, carbon materials such as carbon paper and carbon fiber, thus allowing to fabricate flexible energy sources 11 . However, despite the fact that specific surface area of CNW amounts up to 1000 m 2 g −1 5 , its specific capacitance reaches values of ~120 F g −1 4 .…”