Enhanced Electrochemiluminescence Performance of Ru(bpy)32+/CuO/TiO2 Nanotube Array Sensor for Detection of Amines

Tripropylamine (TPA) is a highly toxic and carcinogenic compound, therefore, TPA concentration in water must be monitored to protect health and the environment. In this paper, an electrochemiluminescent (ECL) sensor was fabricated by immobilising Ru(bpy)(3)(2+)-modified CuO nanoparticles (NPs) on a TiO2 nanotube array (TN) electrode. Compared to an ECL sensor fabricated by immobilising Ru(bpy)(3)(2+) on a TN only electrode, the as-prepared sensor displays a 30% enhanced ECL signal and a detection limit of 9.6x10(-10) M at a signal-to-noise ratio=3 with the concentration of TPA in a range 1x10(-9) to 1x10(-5) M. The results from this study indicated a new approach for the enhancement of performance of ECL sensor in detecting TPA in water.