Reduced graphene oxide-supported smart plasmonic AgPtPd porous nanoparticles for high-performance electrochemical detection of 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene

Engineering favorable plasmonic-based catalytically active nanostructures has been an essential part of 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) sensing due to their synergistically enhanced catalytic performance. However, how to increase the catalytically dynamic species and improve their electrocatalytic activity is still challenging. Herein, smart plasmonic AgPtPd porous nanoparticles anchored on reduced graphene oxide (AgPtPd NPs/rGO) have been developed as a novel material for TNT detection using a wet-chemical reduction strategy in which Ag nanoparticles were used as the starting template. The smart plasmonic AgPtPd nanoparticles show a porous 3D flower-like morphology, which contribute mainly to the high-performance electrochemical detection of TNT. Meanwhile, adsorbent-assisted reduced graphene oxide with a good adsorption capacity toward TNT was introduced. When used in electrochemical TNT detection, the AgPtPd NPs/rGO exhibits a wide linear range from 0.1 to 8 ppm with a limit of detcetion (LOD) of 0.95 ppb, which is much better than the previous study. The remarkable features are probably attributed to the integrated advantages of the plasmonic properties and the synergistic effect between the smart plasmonic AgPtPd porous nanoparticles (with highly micro-reactive sites) and rGO (with good adsorption capacity toward TNT). The results show that smart plasma nanocrystals supported by rGO have broad application prospects for high-performance electrochemical sensors.

Automated summary

By anchoring smart plasmonic AgPtPd porous nanoparticles onto reduced graphene oxide, a novel material for TNT detection was developed. This material exhibited a porous 3D flower-like morphology and high-performance electrochemical detection of TNT. The high performance can be attributed to the synergistic effect between the plasmonic properties and the porous nanoparticles integrated with reduced graphene oxide.