Platinum nanoparticles decorated graphene nanoribbon with eco-friendly unzipping process for electrochemical sensors

In this study, an innovative large-scale synthesis of graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) with the eco-friendly unzipping process (only 0.1 mL H2SO4 acid solution for 1.0 mg carbon nanotube) was proposed. Nearly 100% yields of carbon nanotube derived GNRs was achieved by the proposed procedure. Through the longitudinal unzipping method, abundant oxygen-based functional groups were formed at the edges of GNRs, thus offering tremendous advantages for material synthesis and design. Furthermore, the reduction of platinum precursor to form platinum nanoparticles (PtNPs) can be facilitated by the functional groups on GNR surface for specific sensing. In fact, PtNPs played a role in connecting nodes to synergize the synthesized composite. The composite of PtNPs/GNRs could be further utilized as non-enzymatic biosensing materials against either oxidative or reductive analyte. Two essential biomarkers, namely hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and beta-nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH), were chosen to prove the feasibility of the proposed biosensors. From the experimental results of the amperometric analysis, sensitivities of the modified PtNPs/GNRs electrode toward H2O2 (378.5 mu A/mM/cm(-2)) and NADH (724.3 mu A/mM/cm(-2)) were obtained. The composite of PtNPs/GNRs has been verified to be a potential material for electrochemical biosensing with attractive sensitivity, selectivity, and stability. (C) 2018 Taiwan Institute of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.