Copper iodide nanoparticles within the organic matrix: an efficient catalyst for the electro-oxidation of formic acid

Abstract

The synthesis of ultrafine copper (I) iodide (CuI) nanoparticles has been reported using a modified route of ‘in situ polymerization and composite formation (IPCF)’ method (Mallick et al 2007 J. Phys. Condens. Matter 19 196225, Mallick et al 2012 J. Macromol. Sci. B 51 134–141). The CuI nanoparticles with the average size of 10 nm are dispersed within the polyaniline matrix. The as-synthesized composite material was characterized by optical, surface and microscopic techniques. The polymer stabilized CuI nanoparticles has also been applied as a catalyst for the electrochemical detection of formic acid. The cyclic voltammetry and the square wave voltammetry techniques were used in this study for the efficient electro-oxidation of the analyte. The result shows the gradual increase of current intensity due to the increase of formic acid concentration. A moderately good stability and performance has shown by the CuI nanoparticles based device for the electrochemical oxidation of formic acid with the sensitivity and limit of detection values of 0.0197 μA. mM−1. cm−2 and 0.048 mM, respectively.