Electrocatalytic Oxidation of Dopamine at a Nanocuprous Oxide‐Methylene Blue Composite Glassy Carbon Electrode

Cuprous oxide nanowhisker was prepared by using cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CATB) as soft template, and was characterized by XRD and TEM methods. The electrochemical properties of nano‐Cu₂O and nano‐Cu₂O‐methylene blue (MB) modified electrode were studied. The experimental results indicate that nano‐Cu₂O shows a couple of redox peaks corresponding to the redox of Cu(II)/Cu(I), the peak currents are linear to the scan rates which demonstrate that the electrochemical response of Cu₂O is surface‐controlled. The composite nano‐Cu₂O‐Nafion‐MB modified electrode shows a trend of decrease of peak currents corresponding to the Cu (II)/Cu (I). However, the electrocatalytic ability of nano‐Cu₂O‐MB composite film to dopamine increases dramatically. At this composite electrode, dopamine shows a couple of quasireversible redox peaks with a peak separation of 106 mV, the peak current increases about 8 times and the oxidation peak potential decreases about 200 mV as compared to that at bare glassy carbon electrode. The peak currents change linearly with concentration of dopamine from 1×10^?7 to 3.2×10^?4 mol/L, the detection limit is 4.6×10^?8 mol/L. The composite electrode can effectively eliminate the interference of ascorbic acid and has better stability and excellent reproducibility.     

Comparison of Voltammetric Techniques for Ammonia Sensing in Ionic Liquids

In electroanalytical chemistry, it is often observed that square wave voltammetry (SWV) and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) are more sensitive techniques compared to linear sweep voltammetry (LSV), due to their method of sampling which minimises the charging current (non‐faradaic processes). In this work, a comparison of the three techniques (LSV, DPV and SWV) is performed for ammonia (NH₃) gas oxidation (a chemically and electrochemically irreversible redox process) in an ionic liquid over a concentration range of 10–100 ppm. Four different platinum electrodes are employed: a screen‐printed electrode (SPE), a thin‐film electrode (TFE), a microarray thin‐film electrode (MATFE) and a Pt microdisk electrode (μ‐disk). Calibration plots (current vs concentration) for all three different electrochemical techniques on all four surfaces showed excellent linearity with increased concentrations of NH₃ gas and relatively low limits of detection (LODs). On the larger mm‐sized surfaces (SPE and TFE), the current responses for LSV and SWV were quite similar, but DPV gave the lowest currents. Whereas for the smaller micron sized electrodes (MATFE and μ‐disk), currents were of the order LSV>SWV>DPV, with LSV being far superior to the pulse techniques. These findings suggest that the pulse techniques of SWV and DPV may not be the optimum methods, particularly on microelectrodes, for the detection of analytes such as ammonia in RTILs.     

Nanoporous Gold Leaf for Amperometric Determination of Nitrite

Ultra‐thin free‐standing nanoporous gold leaf made by dealloying exhibits excellent electrocatalytic activities toward nitrite oxidation. The electrochemical responses of nitrite ions on this novel nano‐electrode is found not dependent on pH over a wide range from 4.5 to 8.0, which is markedly different from that of gold oxidation, a process known to be highly pH‐sensitive. Amperometric study shows a linear relationship for nitrite determination in a concentration range from 1 µM to 1 mM. This nanostructured gold electrode displays good stability, repeatability and selectivity which suggests its potential for the development of new electrochemical sensors.     

Sensitive and Green Method for Determination of Chemical Oxygen Demand Using a Nano‐copper Based Electrochemical Sensor

Copper nanoparticles (nano‐Cu) were electrodeposited on the surface of glassy carbon electrode (GCE) potentiostatically at −0.6 V vs. Ag/AgCl for 60 s. The developed nano‐copper modified glassy carbon electrode (nano‐Cu/GCE) was optimized and utilized for electrochemical assay of chemical oxygen demand (COD) using glycine as a standard. The surface morphology and chemical composition of nano‐Cu/GCE were investigated using scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy dispersive X‐ray spectrometer (EDX), respectively. The electrochemical behavior was investigated using linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) which is characterized by a remarkable anodic peak at ∼0.6 V, compared to bare GCE. This indicates that nano‐Cu enhances significantly the electrochemical oxidation of glycine. The effect of different deposition parameters, such as Cu²⁺ concentration, deposition potential, deposition time, pH, and scan rate on the response of the developed sensor were investigated. The optimized nano‐Cu/GCE based COD sensor exhibited a linear range of 15 to 629.3 ppm, and a lower limit of detection (LOD) of 1.7 ppm (S/N=3). This developed method exhibited high tolerance level to chloride ion (0.35 M chloride ion has minimal influence). The analytical utility of the prepared COD sensor was demonstrated by investigating the COD recovery (99.8±4.3) and the assay of COD in different water samples. The results obtained were verified using the standard dichromate method.     

Electrochemical Studies of Oxidation of Lomefloxacin and Interaction with Calf Thymus DNA at Nano‐SnO2/DHP Modified Electrode

A nanoparticle thin film modified electrode has been constructed using a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) coated with a nano‐tin oxide/dihexadecylphosphate (nano‐SnO₂/DHP). In pH 6.0 phosphate buffer solutions (PBS), lomefloxacin (LMF) appeared as an anodic peak with peak potential of 1.35 V at nano‐SnO₂/DHP modified electrode. In comparison with a bare GCE or a nano‐SnO₂ modified electrode, the nano‐SnO₂/DHP modified electrode exhibited an enhanced effectiveness for the oxidation of LMF. Cyclic voltammetry (CVs) coupled with fluorescence and UV/vis absorbance spectra techniques were used to study the interaction of LMF with Calf thymus DNA (ctDNA) in phosphate buffer solutions (PBS). The interaction of LMF and ctDNA could result in a considerable decrease in the peak currents and positive shift in the peak potential, as well as changes of fluorescence, UV/vis adsorption spectra and gel electrophoresis. All the acquired data showed that the new adduct between LMF and ctDNA was formed. Electrochemistry coupled with spectroscopy techniques could provide a relatively easy way to obtain useful information about the molecular mechanism of LMF‐ctDNA interactions.     

FeS2−AuNPs Nanocomposite as Mimicking Enzyme for Constructing Signal‐off Sandwich‐type Electrochemical Immunosensor Based on Electroactive Nickel Hexacyanoferrate as Matrix

In this work, a novel sandwich‐type electrochemical immunosensor with electroactive nickel hexacyanoferrate nanoparticles (NiHCFNPs) as matrix was constructed for α‐fetoprotein (AFP) detection in a signal‐off manner by using FeS₂?AuNPs nanocomposite catalyzed insoluble precipitation to significantly inhibit the electrochemical signal. Initially, the NiHCFNPs with excellent electrochemical property was modified on the electrodeposited nano‐Au electrode to obtain a strong initial electrochemical signal. Subsequently, another nano‐Au layer was formed for immobilization of capture antibody (Ab₁). In the presence of target AFP, the prepared FeS₂?AuNPs‐Ab₂ bioconjugate could be specifically recognized and immobilized on electrode through the sandwich‐type immunoreaction. The FeS₂ with large specific surface areas were used as scaffolds to load abundant mimicking enzyme AuNPs. With the help of hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂), FeS₂?AuNPs with peroxidase‐like activity accelerated the 4‐chloro‐1‐naphthol (4‐CN) oxidation with generation of insoluble precipitation on electrode, which would greatly hinder the electron transfer and thus caused the decrease of electrochemical signal for quantitative determination of AFP. This approach achieved a wide dynamic linear range from 0.0001 to 100 ng mL^?1 with an ultralow limit detection of 0.028 pg mL^?1. Especially, the proposed AFP immunosensor can be applied to detect human serum samples with satisfactory results, indicating a potential application in clinical monitoring of tumor biomarkers.     

掺杂纳米金粒子的火焰氧化TiO2膜的光电化学性质的研究

A nano-Au modified TiO2 electrode was prepared via the oxidation of Ti sheet in flame and subsequent modification with gold nanoparticles. The results of SEM and TEM measurements show that the Au nanoparticles are well dispersed on TiO2 surface. A near 2-fold enhancement in photocurrent was achieved upon the modification with Au nanoparticles. From the results of photocurrent and electrochemical impedance experiments it was found that the flatband potential of nano-Au/TiO2 electrode negatively shifted about 100 mV in 0.5 mol/L Na2SO4 solutions compared with that of bare TiO2 electrode. The improvement of photoelectrochemical performance was explained by the inhibition for charge recombination of photo-induced electrons and holes, and the promotion for interracial charge-transfer kinetics at nano-Au/TiO2 composite film. Such nanometal-semiconductor composite films have the potential application in improving the performance of photoelectrochemical solar cells.     

Electrocatalytic Determination of Ascorbic Acid Using a Palladium Coated Nanoporous Gold Film Electrode

Cyclic voltammetry and differential pulse voltammetry were used to investigate the electrochemical behavior of ascorbic acid (AA) on palladium coated nanoporous gold film (PdNPGF) electrode. The deposition of palladium was done through oxidation of copper UPD layer by palladium ions. This low Pd‐loading electrode behaved as the nanostructured Pd for electrocatalytic reaction. The PdNPGF electrode exhibits excellent electrocatalytic behavior by enhancing the AA oxidation peak current due to synergistic influence of the Pd film and NPGF. The kinetic parameters such as electron transfer coefficient, α, was 0.47 and the voltammetric responses of the PdNPGF electrode were linear against concentration of AA in the ranges of 2.50–33.75 mM and 0.10–0.50 mM with CV and DPV respectively.     

Electrochemical Preparation of a Nanostructured Poly(amino napthalene sulfonic acid) Electrode Using CTAB as a Soft Template and Its Electrocatalytic Application for the Reduction of Iodate

A nanostructured poly(5‐amino‐2‐naphthalene sulfonic acid) (nanostructured PANS) electrode has been prepared using cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) as a soft template by potentiodynamic method. The effect of CTAB at various concentrations was analyzed during electrochemical synthesis of the PANS electrode. As the concentration was near to cmc of CTAB, well growth and nanostructured PANS electrode was obtained. The formation mechanism and the reason for the increase of the peak current of the nanostructured PANS electrode are discussed. The surface morphology of PANS electrode was investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and a nanoribbon like structured PANS polymer was obtained near cmc of CTAB. The electrochemical properties of nanostructured PANS electrode were studied. The catalytic utility of nanostructured PANS electrode was investigated and it exhibited electrocatalytic activity for the reduction of iodate with a low potential. The amperometric detection of iodate was tested at nanostructured PANS electrode. Linear range and detection limit were found to be 0.1 to 0.4 µM and 0.1 µM, respectively. The present work involves a simple, and one‐step approach to fabricate a nanostructured PANS film with unique electrochemical properties, which can have great potential in various applications such as sensors, and energy source systems.     

Electrochemical oxidation of catechol at poly(indole-5-carboxylic acid) electrode

In this work we examined the electrochemical properties of poly(indole-5-carboxylic acid), PIn₅COOH. The polymer was produced by electrochemical polymerisation using cyclic voltammetry (CV). It was shown that PIn₅COOH is electroactive in aqueous solutions showing two redox processes in acidic solution and one redox process in solutions with pH > 4. The oxidation of catechol (CT) on Pt/In₅COOH modified electrodes was investigated by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and rotating disc electrode (RDE) voltammetry. It was established that CT was oxidised only after the oxidation of polymer film was initiated and that polymer significantly enhanced the oxidation and reduction peak currents in comparison with bare Pt electrode. The variation of peak currents (i _pa, i _pc) as a function of CT concentration was found to be linear up to 6 mM. Experiments with a rotating disk electrode show that the oxidation reaction of catechol occures not only at the polymer/electrolyte interface but also in the polymer film.     

新型的钛基Ni-Sn/Ti电极的制备及对甲醇氧化反应的电催化活性

利用电热法,一步制备出新型的钛基Ni-Sn/Ti电极(Ni8Sn/Ti, Ni7Sn3/Ti 和 Ni/Ti)。扫描电镜（SEM）图像表明,催化剂以片状的纳米颗粒形式沉积于钛基体上。利用电化学伏安技术、电位阶跃法和电化学交流阻抗谱（EIS）,研究了这些电极在1mol.L�1NaOH溶液中对甲醇氧化反应的电催化活性。研究表明,与Ni7Sn3/Ti,Ni/Ti以及多晶镍电极相比,Ni8Sn/Ti电极对甲醇氧化反应表现出更高的阳极氧化电流和更低的起始电位。EIS分析表明,在本文所考察的阳极电位和甲醇浓度下,Ni8Sn/Ti电极对甲醇氧化反应显示出极低的电荷传递电阻。结果表明,这种新型的钛基Ni8Sn/Ti电极对甲醇氧化反应具有极高的电催化活性。     

Electrochemical Determination of the Anticancer Herbal Drug Shikonin at a Nanostructured Poly(hydroxymethylated‐3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene) Modified Electrode

A simple and sensitive method is described for the electrochemical determination of shikonin, a widely used anti‐tumoral agent, based on its electrochemical oxidation at a nanostructured poly(hydroxymethylated‐3,4‐ethylenedioxy‐thiophene) (PEDOT‐MeOH) electrode, which was fabricated by a facile electropolymerization method. Compared with bare and poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) electrodes, the PEDOT‐MeOH film exhibited a distinctly higher activity for the electrooxidation of shikonin. The PEDOT‐MeOH electrode showed a wide linear response for shikonin in the concentration range from 1.0 nM to 10.0 µM with detection limit of 0.3 nM. Furthermore, the PEDOT‐MeOH electrode displayed high stability, good reproducibility and high sensitivity for the detection of shikonin.     

A Highly Sensitive Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy Immunosensor for Determination of 1‐Pyrenebutyric Acid Based on the Bifunctionality of Nafion/Gold Nanoparticles Composite Electrode

A simple, highly sensitive and label‐free electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) immunosensor was developed using Nafion and gold nanoparticles (nano‐Au/Nafion) composites for the determination of 1‐pyrenebutyric acid (PBA). Under the optimal conditions, the amount of immobilized antibody was significantly improved on the nano‐Au/Nafion electrode due to the synergistic effect and biocompatibility of Nafion film and gold nanoparticles composites. The results showed that the sensitivity and stability of nano‐Au/Nafion composite electrode for PBA detection were much better than those of nano‐Au modified glassy carbon electrode (nano‐Au/GCE). The plot of increased electron transfer resistances (R_ets) against the logarithm of PBA concentration is linear over the range from 0.1 to 150 ng·mL^?1 with the detection limit of 0.03 ng·mL^?1. The selectivity and accuracy of the proposed EIS immunosensor were evaluated with satisfactory results.     

Electrochemical Biosensor Based on Nanoporous Au/CoO Core–Shell Material with Synergistic Catalysis

An ultrathin CoO layer is deposited on the skeleton surfaces of a nanoporous gold (NPG) film by using atomic layer deposition, creating a flexible electrode. Detailed characterization demonstrates the superior performance of the flexible NPG/CoO hybrids for electrochemical catalysis. The NPG/CoO hybrid not only achieves high catalytic activity for glucose oxidation and H₂O₂ reduction, but also exhibits a linear dependence of the electrical signal on the concentration of glucose and H₂O₂ molecules in the electrolyte. Meanwhile, the sensitivity for H₂O₂ reduction can be as high as 62.5 μA mm ^?1 cm^?2 with linear dependence on the concentration in the range of 0.1–92.9 mm . The high sensitivity is proposed to result from the synergistic effect of Au and CoO at the interfaces, and the high conductivity of the gold skeleton with a large surface area. The superior electrochemical performance of this hybrid electrode is promising for future potential applications in various transitional‐metal‐oxide‐based electrochemical electrodes.     

Enhancement of the Electrochemical Performance of Prussian Blue Modified Electrode via Ionic Liquid Treatment

This article first reports the preparation of a Prussian blue (PB) modified electrode with improved electrochemical properties at the functionalized glass carbon electrode (GC) by imidazolium based ionic liquid. The molecular ionic liquid film on the GC electrode has been found to influence the electrodeposition of PB by a way of enhancement of voltammetric currents, suggesting efficient electrodepositon. Such efficient electrodeposition was caused by the static electric effect which existed between the positively charged imidazolium group on the electrode surface and the negative ferric‐ferricyanide in solution. Compared with the PB/GC electrode, the PB/[Bmim][Cl]/GC electrode showed much better electrochemical stability after successive potential cycling for 250 cycles. A comparative study on amperometric responses of both electrodes to reduce H₂O₂ was also investigated. PB/[Bmim][Cl]/GC electrode showed a better electrocatalytic performance to H₂O₂ with wider linear detection range and higher sensitivity than that at the electrode without [Bmim][Cl]. Furthermore, the kinetics for both electrodes was discussed. The PB/[Bmim][Cl]/GC electrode possessed a greater diffusion coefficient.     

Analysis of methyldopa in the presence of phenylephrine using electrocatalytic effect of a ferrocene derivative at a surface of feather like La3+/ZnO nano‐flowers modified carbon paste electrode

The purpose of the present study was to introduce a newly designed approach for simultaneous determination of methyldopa and phenylephrine using modified carbon paste electrode with feather like La³⁺/ZnO nano‐flowers and N‐(ferrocenylmethylidene) fluoren‐2‐amine (La³⁺/ZnONFMF2ACPE). According to the results from the electrochemical experiments, oxidation current of methyldopa on the modified electrode surface was incremented and its oxidation occurred at a potential about 110 mV less positive than that of an unmodified carbon paste electrode. A linear response was observed for the electrode at different methyldopa concentrations (0.2 to 500.0 μM). The existence of phenylephrine did not induce any change in the modified electrode sensitivity to methyldopa, indicating that they could be measured simultaneously or independently. Real human body samples were used to test our technique efficacy in detecting methyldopa and phenylephrine.     

Electrocatalytic Response of a Glassy-Carbon Electrode Modified with a Polyvinylpyridine Film with Electrodeposited Palladium in the Oxidation of Oxalic Acid

The electrochemical properties of a glassy-carbon electrode modified with a polyvinylpyridine film with electrodeposited palladium were studied. Conditions were selected for preparing a composite film on a glassy-carbon surface. It was found that palladium particles deposited on the polyvinylpyridine film exhibited electrocatalytic activity in the oxidation of H₂C₂O₄. Compared to an unmodified electrode, the oxidation potential of oxalic acid decreased and the current of its oxidation multiply increased. The catalytic current of oxalic acid oxidation was a linear function of its concentration in the range from 1 × 10^–2 to 1 × 10^–6 M.     

Immobilization of Enzymes on the Nano‐Au Film Modified Glassy Carbon Electrode for the Determination of Hydrogen Peroxide and Glucose

A new enzyme‐based amperometric biosensor for hydrogen peroxide was developed relying on the efficient immobilization of horseradish peroxidase (HRP) to a nano‐scaled particulate gold (nano‐Au) film modified glassy carbon electrode (GC). The nano‐Au film was obtained by a chitosan film which was first formed on the surface of GC. The high affinity of chitosan for nano‐Au associated with its amino groups resulted in the formation of nano‐Au film on the surface of GC. The film formed served as an intermediator to retain high efficient and stable immobilization of the enzyme. H₂O₂ was detected using hydroquinone as an electron mediator to transfer electrons between the electrode and HRP. The HRP immobilized on nano‐Au film maintained excellent electrocatalytical activity to the reduction of H₂O₂. The experimental parameters such as the operating potential of the working electrode, mediator concentration and pH of background electrolyte were optimized for best analytical performance of amperometry. The linear range of detection for H₂O₂ is from 6.1×10^?6 to 1.8×10^?3 mol L^?1 with a detection limit of 6.1 μmol L^?1 based on signal/noise=3. The proposed HRP enzyme sensor has the features of high sensitivity (0.25 Almol^?1cm^?2), fast response time (t_90%≤10 s) and a long‐term stability (>1 month). As an extension, glucose oxidase (GOD) was chemically bound to HRP‐modified electrode. A GOD/HRP bienzyme‐modified electrode formed in this way can be applied to the determination of glucose with satisfactory performance.     

Electrochemical Behavior and Amperometric Detection of 4‐Chlorophenol on Nano‐Au Thin Films Modified Glassy Carbon Electrode

An amperometric sensor based on nano‐Au thin films was fabricated, by means of which a fast response to 4‐chlorophenol (4‐CP) can be achieved in the range of mM concentrations. The nanostructured Au thin film was prepared on glassy carbon electrodes by a template‐free, double‐potential step electrodeposition technique. Its structural feature can be controlled well by adjusting the deposition time. The amperometric detection of 4‐CP was performed at +0.85 V with a linear detection range from 0.2 to 4.8 mM and a detection limit of 0.11 mM (S/N=3). Besides, the effect of concentrations on the electrochemical behavior of 4‐CP on the Au thin film was investigated by linear sweep voltammetry, differential pulse voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy.     

纳米TiO2膜用于光催化氧化测定化学需氧量的研究

A photocatalytic oxidation method for determination of chemical oxygen demand （COD） using nano-TiO2 film, based on the use of a nano-TiO2-Ce（SO4）2 system and electrochemical detection, was proposed. The technique was originated from the direct determination of the Ce（Ⅲ） concentration change resulting from photocatalytic oxidation of organic compounds. Ce（Ⅲ）, which was produced by photocatalytic reduction of Ce（SO4）2, could be measured at a multi-walled carbon nanotubes （MWNT） chemically modified electrode （CME）. The COD values by this method were calculated from the differential pulse voltammetry （DPV） current of Ce（Ⅲ） at the CME. Under the optimal operation conditions, the detection limit of 0.5 mg·L^-1 COD with the linear range of 1-600 mg·L^-1 was achieved. This method was also applied to determination of various COD of ground water and wastewater samples. The resuits were in good agreement with those from the conventional COD methods, i.e., permanganate and dichromate ones.