One step electro-oxidative preparation of graphene quantum dots from wood charcoal as a peroxidase mimetic

In present study, we highlight one-step electrochemical synthesis of nearly uniform size (similar to 5 nm) of graphene quantum dots (E-GQDs) from wood charcoal and their further application as a peroxidase enzyme mimetic. The structural and optical properties of as-synthesized E-GQDs were probed by TEM, AFM, and spectroscopic techniques. Peroxidase enzyme mimetic potential of E-GQDs were examined for colorimetric detection of H2O2 and glucose. E-GQDs allowed a rapid and sensitive detection of glucose with a detection limit of 0.006 mM for dynamic response range of 0.01-0.6 mM. The calculated higher value of V-max (7.2 x 10-7 M s-1.) along with lower K-m (0.012 mM) corroborate enhanced the peroxidase-like activity of E-GQDs. Study introduces a cheap and widely available raw material for the electrochemical synthesis of graphene quantum dots with commendable enzyme mimetic activity which may have a huge impact in developing calorimetric bioanalysis systems.