CTAB assisted immobilization of RuO2 nanoparticles on graphene oxide for electrochemical sensing of hydrazine

Abstract

ABSTRACTA novel method has been presented to modify glassy carbon electrode (GCE) with graphene oxide (GO) nanocomposite without introducing any electrode binder such as chitosan and Nafion. First, modify GCE with RuO2 nanoparticles which have been dispersed in cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) aqueous solution. Then, highly adhesive RuO2/CTAB/GO nanocomposite membrane formed on GCE by immersing RuO2/CTAB modified GCE in GO suspension. CTAB plays significant roles not only in the preparation of the nanocomposite but also in the immobilization of nanocomposite on GCE surface. First, CTAB was used as the dispersant of RuO2 nanoparticles. Second, CTAB acted as the molecular linker to bind RuO2 nanoparticles on graphene sheets. Third, CTAB formed CTAB/GO nanocomposite which is highly adhesive on the surface of electrodes such as GCE and ITO (indium tin oxide). The obtained RuO2/CTAB/GO/GCE shows excellent electrocatalytic ability towards the oxidation of hydrazine. The oxidation of hydrazine on RuO2/CTAB/GO/GCE is an adsorption-controlled process and the oxidation current is linear with the concentration of hydrazine in the range of 1 × 10−5∼1 × 10−3 M with a detection limit of 2.3 × 10−6 M. The application of this sensor in the sensing of hydrazine in real water samples confirmed its reliability and accuracy.