A simple one-step electrochemical deposition of bioinspired nanocomposite for the non-enzymatic detection of dopamine

Jang-Hee Yoon,Seung-Cheol Chang,Vijayaraj Kathiresan,Miri Yeom,Suhkmann Kim,Dinakaran Thirumalai,Thenmozhi Rajarathinam,Jaewon Lee

doi:10.1186/s40543-021-00260-y

Jang-Hee Yoon, Seung-Cheol Chang

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1186/s40543-021-00260-y

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Abstract

A simple and cost-effective electrochemical synthesis of carbon-based nanomaterials for electrochemical biosensor is of great challenge these days. Our study describes a single-step electrochemical deposition strategy to prepare a nanocomposite of electrochemically reduced graphene oxide (ErGO), multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), and polypyrrole (PPy) in an aqueous solution of pH 7.0 for dopamine (DA) detection. The ErGO/MWCNTs/PPy nanocomposites show enhanced electrochemical performance due to the strong π–π* stacking interactions among ErGO, MWCNTs, and PPy. The efficient interaction of the nanocomposites is confirmed by evaluating its physical and electrochemical characteristics using field-emission scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry, and amperometry. The deposited nanocomposites are highly stable on the substrates and possess high surface areas, which is vital to improve the sensitivity and selectivity for DA detection. The controlled deposition of the ErGO/MWCNTs/PPy nanocomposites can provide enhanced electrochemical detection of DA. The sensor demonstrates a short time response within 2 s and is a highly sensitive approach for DA detection with a dynamic linear range of 25–1000 nM (R2 = 0.999). The detection limit is estimated to be 2.3 nM, and the sensor sensitivity is calculated to be 8.96 μA μM−1 cm−2, with no distinct responses observed for other biological molecules.

Highlights

The production of electrochemically fabricated integrated nanocomposites on the surface of a transducer using a binder-free process increases the transducer’s electrochemical stability and film-forming ability (Tang et al 2015; Feng et al 2011; Huang et al 2014)
The integrated nanocomposite was effectively deposited on the substrate and grew more uniformly than PPy, graphene oxide (GO), electrochemically reduced graphene oxide (ErGO), ErGO/PPy, and multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs)
The Raman spectra revealed that the intensity ratios (ID/IG) of GO, ErGO, ErGO/PPy, ErGO/ MWCNTs/PPy, and MWCNTs were 0.81, 0.88, 0.58, 1.16, and 0.97, respectively. This result confirms the successful deposition of the ErGO/MWCNTs/PPy nanocomposite on the Glassy carbon electrode (GCE) surface could serve as a favorable platform for electrochemical studies

Summary

Introduction

The production of electrochemically fabricated integrated nanocomposites (containing carbon-based nanomaterials, metal nanoparticles, and conducting polymers) on the surface of a transducer using a binder-free process increases the transducer’s electrochemical stability and film-forming ability (Tang et al 2015; Feng et al 2011; Huang et al 2014). To the best of our knowledge, a single-step electrochemical strategy to prepare the ErGO/MWCNTs/PPy nanocomposite in a neutral solution for application in a DA biosensor has not been reported yet. SEM characterization was performed on a field-emission scanning electron microscope (Hitachi S-4200, Japan) operated at 15 kV and Scheme 1 Schematic representation of single-step electrochemical strategy for fabrication of integrated ErGO/MWCNTs/PPy nanocomposite

Results

Conclusion