Enhanced electrochemical performance of screen-printed carbon electrode by RF-plasma-assisted polypyrrole modification

Screen-printed carbon electrode (SPCE) has been extensively used in electrochemical (EC) detections due to its excellent EC characteristics and low cost. However, SPCE is not sensitive to a small amount of reagents, which severely limits its application in trace detection. Herein, an effective method, radio frequency plasma-assisted polypyrrole (PPy) modification, is proposed to improve the detection sensitivity of SPCEs. PPy nanosheets are treated with hydrogen or oxygen plasma, respectively. The improved mechanism is explored via scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and other characterization approaches. Detailed characterization results indicate that the significant enhancement of detection sensitivity is attributed to the increase of both the reaction area and surface oxygen content of SPCEs. To further demonstrate the effectiveness of this modification method, a series of concentrations of K-3[Fe(CN)(6)] and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide were determined, respectively. The results indicate that the modified SPCEs exhibit excellent repeatability, uniformity, and long-term stability.

Automated summary

This study proposes an effective method to improve the detection sensitivity of screen-printed carbon electrodes (SPCE) by radio frequency plasma-assisted polypyrrole (PPy) modification. The modification increases both the reaction area and surface oxygen content of the SPCE, leading to significant enhancement of detection sensitivity. The modified SPCEs exhibit excellent repeatability, uniformity, and long-term stability.