Biomass-derived carbon decorated by gold nanoparticles as efficient methanol electrochemical sensor

Abstract

Herein, we have demonstrated the successful combination of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and green carbon (GC) (biomass-derived) obtained from date seeds to detect methanol (MeOH) via a simple electrochemical approach. We have synthesized GC by pyrolysis method whereas AuNPs were deposited by the photochemical deposition technique. We have systematically characterized the Au@GC nanocomposite by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), FESEM, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), and Raman spectroscopy. In comparison to a bare glassy carbon electrode (GCE) or GC fabricated GCE, the newly-fabricated Au@GC nanocomposite modified GCE (Au@GC/GCE) has shown better performance in MeOH sensing. The proposed sensor exhibited excellent sensitivity (0.0143 μAmM−1), a lower detection limit (LOD = 0.39 mM at S/N = 3), and a wide linear dynamic range (LDR = 1–80 mM). This Au@GC/GCE sensor also showed good operational stability, reproducibility, and repeatability in MeOH detection. The research findings indicated the potential application of the Au@GC nanocomposite as an electroactive material for effective electrochemical sensing of environmental pollutants.