The application of complex multiple forklike ZnO nanostructures to rapid and ultrahigh sensitive hydrogen peroxide biosensors

A new complex multiple forklike ZnO nanostructure was fabricated by citric acid assisted annealing process. The complex multiple forklike ZnO nanostructure is composed of several nanorods. These nanorods grow from a thin platelet base and are parallel to each other to form complex multiple forklike ZnO nanostructure. The widthes of thin platelet bases range from 60 to 230 nm. The diameters of the nanorods range from 16 to 60 nm, and their lengths are 0.5 mu similar to 1.3 mu. FT-IR spectrum, room-temperature PL, and UV-Vis absorption spectra are also discussed. A possible growth mechanism is proposed. Complex multiple forklike ZnO nanostructure was first used to construct a novel enzymatic biosensor based on the ZnO/CHIT inorganic-organic composite film. Well-studied horseradish peroxidase (HRP) was chosen as a model enzyme. The as-prepared biosensor displays ultrahigh sensitivity, quick response time, low detection limit and small apparent Michaelis-Menten constant. These results show that the Complex multiple forklike ZnO nanostructure is a promising material to construct enzyme biosensors. (C) 2010 Published by Elsevier Ltd.