Development of CuAlO2-Encapsulated Reduced Graphene Oxide Nanocomposites: An Efficient and Selective Electrocatalyst for Detection of Neurodegenerative Disorders

Carbon-based nanomaterials continue to simulate wide interest in diverse disciplines including electrochemical biosensors, which have great ability to function as next-generation clinical diagnostics. Motivated by this point, we for the first time developed a CuAlO2-encapsulated reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanocomposite by a facile wet-chemical process to modify a glassy carbon electrode for dopamine detection with high selectivity and good sensitivity. The size, shape, phase purity, chemical composition, and surface area were investigated for the samples through transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller analysis. The electrocatalytic performance was studied using cyclic voltammetry and amperometric technique. The modified rGO/CuAlO2 nanocomposite electrode showed an enhanced electrochemical performance compared to other electrodes and pure CuAlO2 electrodes due to the strong promoting effect between rGO and CuAlO2. Both the oxidation current and concentration were proportional and show a linear range of 9.2 x 10(-8) to 1.6 x 10(-7) M having a detection limit of 15 nM at S/N = 3. Further, the biosensor successfully neglected the interference of ascorbic and uric acid and exhibited enhanced selectivity, improved sensitivity, and stability toward dopamine formulations. Most obviously, the real-time analysis of the electrochemical biosensor may be proved using the clinical diagnostics in the near future.