Nafion covered core–shell structured Fe3O4@graphene nanospheres modified electrode for highly selective detection of dopamine

Abstract Nafion covered core–shell structured Fe 3 O 4 @graphene nanospheres (GNs) modified glassy carbon electrode (GCE) was successfully prepared and used for selective detection dopamine. Firstly, the characterizations of hydro-thermal synthesized Fe 3 O 4 @GNs were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Raman spectroscopy. Then Fe 3 O 4 @GNs/Nafion modified electrode exhibited excellent electrocatalytic activity toward the oxidations of dopamine (DA). The interference test showed that the coexisted ascorbic acid (AA) and uric acid (UA) had no electrochemical interference toward DA. Under the optimum conditions, the broad linear relationship was obtained in the experimental concentration from 0.020 μM to 130.0 μM with the detection limit (S/N = 3) of 0.007 μM. Furthermore, the core–shell structured Fe 3 O 4 @GNs/Nafion/GCE was applied to the determination of DA in real samples and satisfactory results were got, which could provide a promising platform to develop excellent biosensor for detecting DA.