Copper nanoparticles entrapped in SWCNT-PPy nanocomposite on Pt electrode as NO x electrochemical sensor

• Published in: Talanta (Oxford) Vol. 85; no. 2; pp. 964 - 969
• Main Authors: Prakash, Subash, Rajesh, Seenivasan, Singh, Sushil Kumar, Bhargava, Kalpana, Ilavazhagan, Govindaswamy, Vasu, Veerapandy, Karunakaran, Chandran
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 2011
• Subjects: Copper nanoparticles; NO x electrochemical sensor; Polypyrrole matrix; Single-walled carbon nanotube; NO x electrochemical sensor; Polypyrrole matrix; Copper nanoparticles; Single-walled carbon nanotube
• ISSN: 0039-9140; 1873-3573
• DOI: 10.1016/j.talanta.2011.05.004

A highly sensitive NO x sensor was designed and developed by electrochemical incorporation of copper nanoparticles (CuNP) on single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT)-polypyrrole (PPy) nanocomposite modified Pt electrode. The modified electrodes were characterized by scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray analysis. Further, the electrochemical behavior of the CuNP-SWCNT-PPy-Pt electrode was investigated by cyclic voltammetry. It exhibited the characteristic CuNP reversible redox peaks at −0.15 V and −0.3 V vs. Ag/AgCl respectively. The electrocatalytic activity of the CuNP-SWCNT-PPy-Pt electrode towards NO x is four-fold than the CuNP-PPy-Pt electrode. These results clearly revealed that the SWCNT-PPy nanocomposite facilitated the electron transfer from CuNP to Pt electrode and provided an electrochemical approach for the determination of NO x . A linear dependence ( r 2 = 0.9946) on the NO x concentrations ranging from 0.7 to 2000 μM, with a sensitivity of 0.22 ± 0.002 μA μM −1 cm −2 and detection limit of 0.7 μM was observed for the CuNP-SWCNT-PPy-Pt electrode. In addition, the sensor exhibited good reproducibility and retained stability over a period of one month.