One pot synthesis of nitrogen-doped hollow carbon spheres with improved electrocatalytic properties for sensitive H 2 O 2 sensing in human serum

Abstract N-doped hollow carbon spheres (N-HCS) have been proved as efficient electrical catalytic materials with outstanding oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) ability. However, conventional approaches for the synthesis of N-HCS always involved multistep procedures. In this paper, by appropriately controlling the polymerization of tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) and resorcinol/formaldehyde (RF), N-HCS have been synthesized through “one pot” method without use of surfactant. Next, the ORR and OER of N-HCS were conducted to examine its electrocatalytic ability. Finally, it was modified on the glassy carbon electrode (GCE) as an improved electrical catalyst to monitor H 2 O 2 in human serum samples. The linear ranges for monitoring H 2 O 2 were from 0.05 mM to 29.5 mM and from 29.5 mM to 47.5 mM with a limit of detection of 0.02 mM. The recoveries for the assays in human serums were between 92.5% and 107.4%. Therefore, we believe that this newly synthesized N-HCS will play a significant role in the synthesis and application of electrocatalytic materials and the development of novel electrochemical sensors.