Few-layer graphene sheets with embedded gold nanoparticles for electrochemical analysis of adenine

Alexandru R Biris,1 Stela Pruneanu,1 Florina Pogacean,1 Mihaela D Lazar,1 Gheorghe Borodi,1 Stefania Ardelean,1 Enkeleda Dervishi,2 Fumiya Watanabe,2 Alexandru S Biris2 1National Institute for Research and Development of Isotopic and Molecular Technologies, Cluj-Napoca, Romania; 2Center for Integrative Nanotechnology Sciences, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Little Rock, AR, USA Abstract: This work describes the synthesis of few-layer graphene sheets embedded with various amounts of gold nanoparticles (Gr-Au-x) over an Aux/MgO catalytic system (where x = 1, 2, or 3 wt%). The sheet-like morphology of the Gr-Au-x nanostructures was confirmed by transmission electron microscopy and high resolution transmission electron microscopy, which also demonstrated that the number of layers within the sheets varied from two to seven. The sample with the highest percentage of gold nanoparticles embedded within the graphitic layers (Gr-Au-3) showed the highest degree of crystallinity. This distinct feature, along with the large number of edge-planes seen in high resolution transmission electron microscopic images, has a crucial effect on the electrocatalytic properties of this material. The reaction yields (40%–50%) and the final purity (96%–98%) of the Gr-Au-x composites were obtained by thermogravimetric analysis. The Gr-Au-x composites were used to modify platinum substrates and subsequently to detect adenine, one of the DNA bases. For the bare electrode, no oxidation signal was recorded. In contrast, all of the modified electrodes showed a strong electrocatalytic effect, and a clear peak for adenine oxidation was recorded at approximately +1.05 V. The highest increase in the electrochemical signal was obtained using a platinum/Gr-Au-3-modified electrode. In addition, this modified electrode had an exchange current density (I0, obtained from the Tafel plot) one order of magnitude higher than that of the bare platinum electrode, which also confirmed that the transfer of electrons took place more readily at the Gr-Au-3-modified electrode. Keywords: graphene, gold nanoparticles, chemical vapor deposition, oxidation of adenin

Direct electrochemical oxidation of S-captopril using gold electrodes modified with graphene-AuAg nanocomposites

Florina Pogacean,1 Alexandru R Biris,2 Maria Coros,1 Mihaela Diana Lazar,1 Fumiya Watanabe,3 Ganesh K Kannarpady,3 Said A Farha Al Said,4 Alexandru S Biris,3 Stela Pruneanu1 1Department of Isotopic Physics and Technology, 2Department of Mass Spectrometry, Chromatography, and Applied Physics, National Institute for Research and Development of Isotopic and Molecular Technologies, Cluj-Napoca, Romania; 3Center for Integrative Nanotechnology Sciences, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Little Rock, Arkansas, USA; 4Department of Physics, College of Science, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia Abstract: In this paper, we present a novel approach for the electrochemical detection of S-captopril based on graphene AuAg nanostructures used to modify an Au electrode. Multi-layer graphene (Gr) sheets decorated with embedded bimetallic AuAg nanoparticles were successfully synthesized catalytically with methane as the carbon source. The two catalytic systems contained 1.0 wt% Ag and 1.0 wt% Au, while the second had a larger concentration of metals (1.5 wt% Ag and 1.5 wt% Au) and was used for the synthesis of the Gr-AuAg-1 and Gr-AuAg-1.5 multicomponent samples. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy analysis indicated the presence of graphene flakes that had regular shapes (square or rectangular) and dimensions in the tens to hundreds of nanometers. We found that the size of the embedded AuAg nanoparticles varied between 5 and 100 nm, with the majority being smaller than 20 nm. Advanced scanning transmission electron microscopy studies indicated a bimetallic characteristic of the metallic clusters. The resulting Gr-AuAg-1 and Gr-AuAg-1.5 samples were used to modify the surface of commonly used Au substrates and subsequently employed for the direct electrochemical oxidation of S-captopril. By comparing the differential pulse voltammograms recorded with the two modified electrodes at various concentrations of captopril, the peak current was determined to be well-defined, even at relatively low concentration (10-5 M), for the Au/Gr-AuAg-1.5 electrode. In contrast, the signals recorded with the Au/Gr-AuAg-1 electrode were poorly defined within a 5×10-6 to 5×10-3 M concentration range, and many of them overlapped with the background. Such composite materials could find significant applications in nanotechnology, sensing, or nanomedicine. Keywords: bimetallic AuAg nanoparticles, electrochemical detection, multi-layer graphen