Ionic liquid-graphene composite for ultratrace explosive trinitrotoluene detection

A new ionic liquid (IL)-graphene composite prepared by combining IL and a three-dimensional graphene material with large specific surface area and pronounced mesoporosity was used for ultratrace trinitrotoluene detection, showing low background current, high sensitivity of 1.65 mu A cm(-2) per ppb, low detection limit of 0.5 ppb and good reproducibility, which is much superior to that demonstrated by the IL-CNT and IL-graphite composites. The preparation of IL-graphene composite expands the scope of IL-based electrochemical devices. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.