The effects of ionic liquid on the electrochemical sensing performance of graphene- and carbon nanotube-based electrodes

Analyst. 2013 Jan 21;138(2):576-82. doi: 10.1039/c2an36263e.

Abstract

The electrochemical sensing properties of graphene-based and carbon nanotube (CNT)-based electrodes towards ascorbic acid, dopamine, uric acid, and glucose are systematically compared. Nano-sized Pd catalyst particles are uniformly dispersed on both carbon supports using a supercritical fluid deposition technique to increase the sensing performance. The CNT/Pd electrode shows higher detection current than that of the graphene/Pd electrode, which is attributed to the three-dimensional architecture interwoven by the CNTs that creates a larger number of reaction sites. With the incorporation of ionic liquid (IL), the detection sensitivity of the IL/graphene/Pd electrode significantly increases, becoming noticeably higher than that of the IL/CNT/Pd counterpart. The synergistic interactions between graphene and IL that lead to the superior sensing performance are demonstrated and discussed.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Ascorbic Acid / analysis*
  • Biosensing Techniques
  • Catalysis
  • Dopamine / analysis*
  • Electrochemical Techniques*
  • Electrodes
  • Graphite / chemistry
  • Ionic Liquids / chemistry
  • Nanotubes, Carbon / chemistry*
  • Palladium / chemistry
  • Uric Acid / analysis*

Substances

  • Ionic Liquids
  • Nanotubes, Carbon
  • Uric Acid
  • Palladium
  • Graphite
  • Ascorbic Acid
  • Dopamine