A nanocomposite-based electrochemical sensor for non-enzymatic detection of hydrogen peroxide

// Xin Du 1 , Yuan Chen 2 , Wenhao Dong 2 , Bingkai Han 2 , Min Liu 1 , Qiang Chen 2 , Jun Zhou 1, 2 1 Institute of Biomedical Sciences, College of Life Sciences, Key Laboratory of Animal Resistance Biology of Shandong Province, Key Laboratory of Molecular and Nano Probes of the Ministry of Education, Shandong Normal University, Jinan, Shandong 250014, China 2 State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology, Key Laboratory of Bioactive Materials of the Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China Correspondence to: Jun Zhou, email: junzhou@sdnu.edu.cn Qiang Chen, email: qiangchen@nankai.edu.cn Keywords: hydrogen peroxide, electrochemical sensor, graphene oxide, polyaniline, platinum nanoparticle Received: October 19, 2016     Accepted: December 01, 2016     Published: December 27, 2016 ABSTRACT Hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) plays important signaling roles in normal physiology and disease. However, analyzing the actions of H 2 O 2 is often impeded by the difficulty in detecting this molecule. Herein, we report a novel nanocomposite-based electrochemical sensor for non-enzymatic detection of H 2 O 2. Graphene oxide (GO) was selected as the dopant for the synthesis of polyaniline (PANI), leading to the successful fabrication of a water-soluble and stable GO-PANI composite. GO-PANI was subsequently subject to cyclic voltammetry to generate reduced GO-PANI (rGO-PANI), enhancing the conductivity of the material. Platinum nanoparticles (PtNPs) were then electrodeposited on the surface of the rGO-PANI-modified glassy carbon electrode (GCE) to form an electrochemical H 2 O 2 sensor. Compared to previously reported sensors, the rGO-PANI-PtNP/GCE exhibited an expanded linear range, higher sensitivity, and lower detection limit in the quantification of H 2 O 2 . In addition, the sensor displayed outstanding reproducibility and selectivity in real-sample examination. Our study suggests that the rGO-PANI-PtNP/GCE may have broad utility in H 2 O 2 detection under physiological and pathological conditions.