Graphene Nanoribbon-Supported PtPd Concave Nanocubes for Electrochemical Detection of TNT with High Sensitivity and Selectivity

Anal Chem. 2015 Dec 15;87(24):12262-9. doi: 10.1021/acs.analchem.5b03390. Epub 2015 Nov 24.

Abstract

In this work, PtPd concave nanocubes anchored on graphene nanoribbons (PtPd-rGONRs) were successfully fabricated through a hydrothermal process. The structural characterizations confirmed that PtPd concave cubes with an average size of around 11 nm have been successfully synthesized and they are uniformly assembled on the surface of rGONRs. The electrochemical measurements demonstrated that the PtPd-rGONRs composite-modified glassy carbon electrode (GCE) shows much enhanced current signals for TNT reduction, which is 4 and 12-fold higher than rGONRs and bare glassy carbon electrode, respectively. The PtPd-rGONRs exhibited a wide linear range for TNT detection from 0.01 to 3 ppm with the sensing limit of 0.8 ppb. Moreover, the PtPd-rGONRs showed excellent detection stability for the determination of TNT. Most importantly, the PtPd-rGONRs-based electrochemical detection platform can be successfully applied to TNT detection in tap water and real lake water samples. The present study indicates that graphene nanoribbon-supported nanocrystals are promising in designing high performance electrochemical sensors for explosives detection.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Electrochemical Techniques*
  • Graphite / chemistry*
  • Metal Nanoparticles / chemistry*
  • Nanotubes, Carbon / chemistry*
  • Palladium / chemistry*
  • Platinum / chemistry*
  • Trinitrotoluene / analysis*

Substances

  • Nanotubes, Carbon
  • Trinitrotoluene
  • Platinum
  • Palladium
  • Graphite