Solid-state reference electrodes for potentiometric sensors

The availability and application of solid-state reference electrodes for potentiometric electrochemical sensors are briefly reviewed. For a long time, considerable efforts have been made to combine solid-state indicator electrodes with equivalent reference electrodes to take advantage of the absence of liquid system components to full capacity. In spite of various suggestions to solve the problem, no type of solid-state reference electrode is so far available with properties completely identical to conventional ones.     

基于碳纳米管修饰电极检测有机磷农药的生物传感器

报道了一种用于检测有机磷农药的安培型生物传感器,利用戊二醛交联法将乙酰胆碱酯酶和牛血清白蛋白固定在羧基化多壁碳纳米管修饰玻碳电极表面,制备了可应用于检测有机磷农药的新型生物传感器,并确定了最佳工作条件.该方法具有良好的重现性和回收率,当辛硫磷及氧化乐果的浓度分别在5.0×10-4～5.0×10-1 g/L和1.0×10-3～5.0×10-1 g/L范围内时,抑制率与其浓度的对数呈线性关系,检出限按抑制率为10%时的农药浓度计算,可分别达到3.6×10-4 g/L和5.9×10-4 g/L.     

Effect of mechanical activation on characteristics of electrodes based on fluorinated carbon nanotubes

A procedure was developed for fabricating cathodes based on fluorinated carbon nanotubes for primary lithium current sources. The procedure allows reaching significantly higher levels of the discharging potential and capacity due to better homogenization and compaction of the electrode active mass.     

多壁碳纳米管固载亚甲基蓝复合膜修饰玻碳电极测定己烯雌酚

提出了多壁碳纳米管-聚亚甲基蓝(MWNT/PMB)复合膜修饰玻碳电极检测己烯雌酚(DES)的方法,考察了缓冲液、pH、扫描速度等实验参数对测定的影响。在0.2 mol/L的磷酸缓冲液(pH7.0)中,DES在复合膜电极上出现了一个明显的氧化峰,峰电位在0.197 V处。与裸电极相比较,修饰后的电极能显著提高DES的氧化峰电流并降低其氧化电位,表明MWNT/PMB复合膜对DES有电催化作用。峰电流与己烯雌酚浓度在3.73×10-11~3.73×10-8mol/L范围内呈线性关系,检出限为2×10-11mol/L;用此法对己烯雌酚药片的含量进行了测定,测定结果与标示相符。     

基于多壁碳纳米管/壳聚糖多层膜修饰玻碳电极邻苯二酚的测定

改进了碳纳米管在壳聚糖溶液中的分散方法,制备了多壁碳纳米管/壳聚糖多层膜修饰玻碳电极,对比了不同修饰层数膜电极的循环伏安和电化学阻抗行为,5层多壁碳纳米管/壳聚糖膜修饰玻碳电极的电化学性能优良.在最优实验条件下,该修饰玻碳电极对邻苯二酚(CAT)有灵敏的响应,CAT浓度在3.99×10-6～9.09×10-4mol/L范围内与氧化峰电流呈良好的线性关系,检出限为2.39×10-6mol/L(S/N=3).该修饰玻碳电极性能稳定,测定4×10-5mol/LCAT溶液,RSD(n=10)为2.1%;15周后,该电极的响应值仅降低1.9%.     

Nanocomposites based on chromium oxide and carbon nanotubes for oxygen electrodes of power cells

Electrochemical method for production of nanostructured composites based on multiple-wall carbon nanotubes and an oxide chromium compound is suggested.     

Biosensors based on carbon nanotubes

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) exhibit a unique combination of excellent mechanical, electrical and electrochemical properties, which has stimulated increasing interest in the application of CNTs as components in (bio)sensors. This review highlights various design methodologies for CNT-based biosensors and their employment for the detection of a number of biomolecules. In addition, recent developments in the fields of CNT-based chemiresistors and chemically sensitive field-effect transistors are presented. After a critical discussion of the factors that currently limit the practical use of CNT-based biosensors, the review concludes with an outline of potential future applications for CNTs in biology and medicine.      

All-solid-state reference electrodes based on conducting polymers

A novel construction of solution free (pseudo)reference electrodes, compatible with all-solid-state potentiometric indicator electrodes, has been proposed. These electrodes use conducting polymers (CP): polypyrrole (PPy) or poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT). Two different arrangements have been tested: solely based on CP and those where the CP phase is covered with a poly(vinyl chloride) based outer membrane of tailored composition. The former arrangement was designed to suppress or compensate cation- and anion-exchange, using mobile perchlorate ions and poly(4-styrenesulfonate) or dodecylbenzenesulfonate anions as immobilized dopants. The following systems were used: (i) polypyrrole layers doped simultaneously by two kinds of anions, both mobile and immobilized in the polymer layer; (ii) bilayers of polypyrrole with anion exchanging inner layer and cation-exchanging outer layer; (iii) polypyrrole doped by surfactant dodecylbenzenesulfonate ions, which inhibit ion exchange on the polymer/solution interface. For the above systems, recorded potentials have been found to be practically independent of electrolyte concentration. The best results, profound stability of potentials, have been obtained for poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) or polypyrrole doped by poly(4-styrenesulfonate) anions covered by a poly(vinyl chloride) based membrane, containing both anion- and cation-exchangers as well as solid potassium chloride and silver chloride with metallic silver. Differently to the cases (i)-(iii) these electrodes are much less sensitive to the influence of redox and pH interferences. This arrangement has been also characterized using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and chronopotentiometry.     

Determination of catecolamines on electrodes modified with multiwalled carbon nanotubes

The electrochemical behavior of several biologically active catecolamines in studied on a glassy carbon electrode with the surface preliminarily modified by a composite film containing preliminarily carboxylated multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNT). The coatings are characterized by the methods of cyclic voltammetry and scanning microscopy. It is shown that the use of hybrid composites prepared by immobilizing MWNT and gold nanoparticles into the film of poly(isonicotinic) acid provides the high diffusion permeability of the surface layers and the efficiency of the electron transfer as regards catecolamines. The possibility of using these electrodes for selective determination of these substances in drugs widely used in the modern practical medicine is demonstrated.     

Electrochemical study and flow injection analysis of paracetamol in pharmaceutical formulations based on screen-printed electrodes and carbon nanotubes

Acetaminophenol or paracetamol is one of the most commonly used analgesics in pharmaceutical formulations. Acetaminophen is electroactive and voltammetric mechanistic studies for the electrode processes of the acetaminophenol/N-acetyl-p-quinoneimine redox system are presented. Carbon nanotubes modified screen-printed electrodes with enhanced electron transfer properties are used for the study of the electrochemical-chemical oxidation mechanism of paracetamol at pH 2.0.Quantitative analysis of paracetamol by using its oxidation process (in a Britton-Robinson buffer solution pH 10.0) at +0.20 V (vs. an Ag pseudoreference electrode) on an untreated screen-printed carbon electrode (SPCE) was carried out. Thus, a cyclic voltammetric based reproducible determination of acetaminophen (R.S.D., 2.2%) in the range 2.5 × 10⁻⁶ M to 1 × 10⁻³ M, was obtained. However, when SPCEs are used as amperometric detectors coupled to a flow injection analysis (FIA) system, the detection limit achieved for paracetamol was 1 × 10⁻⁷ M, one order of magnitude lower than that obtained by voltammetric analysis. The repeatability of the amperometric detection with the same SPCE is 2% for 15 successive injections of 10⁻⁵ M acetaminophen and do not present any memory effect.Finally, the applicability of using screen-printed carbon electrodes for the electrochemical detection of paracetamol (i.e. for quality control analysis) was demonstrated by using two commercial pharmaceutical products.     

Composites based on polyaniline and aligned carbon nanotubes

Composites based on aligned carbon nanotubes and polyaniline are prepared via the electrochemical polycondensation of aniline in a sulf uric acid solution. The structure of the composites and the character of interaction of polyaniline and the surface of carbon nanotubes are studied by scanning and transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and IR and X-ra y photoelectron spectroscopy. It is shown that in the composites, electron density is transferred from the carbon nanotube to the polyaniline film. The occurrence of polyaniline on the surface of nanotubes increases the mean current in cyclic voltammograms of the composite material and leads to a marked increase in the calculated specific capacity of electrodes formed on its basis.     

Construction and performance characteristics of new ion selective electrodes based on carbon nanotubes for determination of meclofenoxate hydrochloride

This work offers construction and comparative evaluation the performance characteristics of conventional polymer (I), carbon paste (II) and carbon nanotubes chemically modified carbon paste ion selective electrodes (III) for meclofenoxate hydrochloride are described. These electrodes depend mainly on the incorporation of the ion pair of meclofenoxate hydrochloride with phosphomolybdic acid (PMA) or phosphotungestic acid (PTA). They showed near Nernestian responses over usable concentration range 1.0 × 10⁻⁵ to 1.0 × 10⁻² M with slopes in the range 55.15–59.74 mV (concentration decade)⁻¹. These developed electrodes were fully characterized in terms of their composition, response time, working concentration range, life span, usable pH and temperature range. The electrodes showed a very good selectivity for Meclo with respect to a large number of inorganic cations, sugars and in the presence of the degradation product of the drug (p-chloro phenoxy acetic acid). The standard additions method was applied to the determination of MecloCl in pure solution, pharmaceutical preparations and biological samples. Dissolution testing was also applied using the proposed sensors.     

Miniature organic transistors with carbon nanotubes as quasi-one-dimensional electrodes

As the dimensions of electronic devices approach those of molecules, the size, geometry, and chemical composition of the contact electrodes play increasingly dominant roles in device functions. It is shown here that single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT) can be used as quasi-one-dimensional (1D) electrodes to construct organic field effect transistors (FET) with molecular scale width ( approximately 2 nm) and channel length (1-3 nm). An important feature owing to the quasi-1D electrode geometry is the favorable gate electrostatics that allows for efficient switching of ultra-short organic channels. This affords room temperature conductance modulation by orders of magnitude for organic transistors that are only several molecules in length, with switching characteristics superior to similar devices with lithographically patterned metal electrodes. With nanotubes, covalent carbon-carbon bonds could be utilized to form contacts to molecular materials. The unique geometrical, physical, and chemical properties of carbon nanotube electrodes may lead to various interesting molecular devices.     

Magnetoresistance devices based on single-walled carbon nanotubes

We demonstrate the physical principles for the construction of a nanometer-sized magnetoresistance device based on the Aharonov-Bohm effect [Phys. Rev. 115, 485 (1959)]. The proposed device is made of a short single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) placed on a substrate and coupled to a tip/contacts. We consider conductance due to the motion of electrons along the circumference of the tube (as opposed to the motion parallel to its axis). We find that the circumference conductance is sensitive to magnetic fields threading the SWCNT due to the Aharonov-Bohm effect, and show that by retracting the tip/contacts, so that the coupling to the SWCNT is reduced, very high sensitivity to the threading magnetic field develops. This is due to the formation of a narrow resonance through which the tunneling current flows. Using a bias potential the resonance can be shifted to low magnetic fields, allowing the control of conductance with magnetic fields of the order of 1 T.     

Voltammetric and flow-injection determination of carbohydrates using composite electrodes based on carbon nanotubes and Nickel(II) hexacyanoferrate

The catalytic activities of oxo and hydroxo forms of nickel(II) on the surface of a nickel deposit and an inorganic film of nickel(II) hexacyanoferrate(III) (NiHCF) electrodeposited on a glassy-carbon electrode both unmodified and modified by multi-wall or single-wall (also functionalized) carbon nanotubes in the electrooxidation of glucose, sucrose, and maltose are compared. A more pronounced catalytic effect was obtained in the electrooxidation of these carbohydrates on an electrode modified with functionalized singlewall carbon nanotubes and a NiHCF film. Methods are proposed for the voltammetric and flow-injection determination of carbohydrates on this composite electrode. A linear dependence of the analytical signal on the analyte concentration was observed in the range from 5 × 10^?7 to 5 × 10^?2 M under stationary conditions and from 0.003 to 0.3 μmol under flow conditions.     

Ion selectivity using membranes comprising functionalized carbon nanotubes

In this paper, we use applied mathematical modelling to investigate the transportation of ions inside functionalized carbon nanotubes, and in particular the transport of sodium and chloride ions. This problem is important for future ion transport and detection, and also arises in ion diffusion inside complex biological channels. Some important future applications of the system for a solvent are ultra-sensitive biosensors and electrolytes for alkaline fuel cells. We model the interactions between the ions and the nanotube by the Lennard-Jones potential and the interactions between the ions and the functional group by the Coulomb potential, while the atomic interactions between the ions is modeled by both the Lennard-Jones and Coulomb potentials. We further assume that the carbon atoms, the charge of the functional group, and the ions are all evenly distributed on the surface of the nanotube, the entry of the nanotube and the envisaged ionic surface, respectively, so that we may use the continuous approximation to calculate the corresponding potential energies. For nanotubes located in salt water, the molecular effects arising from the bulk solution can be extracted from MD simulation studies. Assuming that the solvent is absent, we first determine the acceptance radii for the sodium or chloride ion entering the nanotube, both with and without a functional group, and we then determine the equilibrium positions of two identical ions inside the nanotube. Finally, the transportation time of an intruding ion through the nanotube is deduced from the total axial force. In the presence of a solvent, the molecular effects arising from the bulk solution are examined and we establish that the presence of a solvent stabilizes the selectivity of the ions.     

Influence of silver-decorated multi-walled carbon nanotubes on electrochemical performance of polyaniline-based electrodes

In this work, silver (Ag) nanoparticles were deposited on multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) by chemical reduction while Ag-decorated MWNTs (Ag-MWNTs)/polyaniline (PANI) composites were prepared by oxidation polymerization. The effect of the Ag incorporated into the interface of the composites on the electrochemical performance of the MWNTs/PANI was investigated. It was found that highly dispersed Ag nanoparticles were deposited onto the MWNTs, and the Ag-MWNTs were successfully coated by PANI. According to cyclic voltammograms, the Ag-MWNTs/PANI exhibited significantly increased electrochemical performances compared to MWNTs/PANI and the highest specific capacitance obtained of MWNTs/PANI and 0.15 M Ag-MWNTs/PANI was 162 F/g and 205 F/g, respectively. This indicated that Ag nanoparticles that were deposited onto the MWNTs caused an enhanced electrochemical performance of the MWNTs/PANI due to their high electric conductivity, which resulted in an increase of the charge transfer between the MWNTs and PANI by a bridge effect.     

基于多壁碳纳米管和纳米金修饰电极测定特殊序列DNA的电化学生物传感器的制备

基于多壁碳纳米管和纳米金复合膜修饰电极制备了特殊序列的靶DNA的电化学生物传感器.该传感器以六氨基合钌为杂交指示剂,用差示脉冲伏安法进行检测DNA杂化,其响应信号与靶DNA浓度在1.0×10<'-12>～1.0×10<'-7>mol/L范围内呈线性关系,检测限达3.5×10<'-13>mol/L.该传感器能区分单碱基错配的靶DNA.     

Infrared photorefractive composites based on polyvinylcarbazole and carbon nanotubes

Photorefractive materials based on unplasticized polymers that have a high glass-transition temperature and the frozen random orientation of chromophores were prepared by layer casting. Under these conditions, only the third-order susceptibility has a nonzero value, increasing with an increase in the conjugation-chain length and reaching considerable values in the case of nanosized molecules, such as single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs). In SWNT-containing polyvinylcarbazole, the photoelectric sensitivity and photorefractive characteristics were measured at 1064 nm. Using electric-field induced second-harmonic generation, the third-order susceptibility was estimated. In a composite containing 0.26 wt % SWNT, the diffraction grating is displaced by 5° relative to the interference pattern, the result that is presumably due to the close mobility of unlike charge carriers. Therefore, the beam-coupling gain coefficient Γ and the net gain Γ-α have low values, which are 53 and 42 cm^?1, respectively, at 115 V/μm.