Defect engineering of copper-doped mesoporous manganese dioxide nanoflowers for enhancing electrocatalytic detection of hydrogen peroxide

Abstract

Birnessite-type δ-MnO2 nanoflowers doped with copper ions (Cu-MnO2) can enhance the catalytic performance of MnO2-based catalysts for efficient electrochemical sensing of H2O2. There are no significant changes in the surface morphology and lattice structure of bulk MnO2 after Cu doping via engineered cation exchange. The catalytic Cu species are effectively incorporated into the tunnel entrance of δ-MnO2, the Mn site in the MnO6 octahedron, and surface defects. The Cu doping enhances the electrical and ionic conductivities, and generates numerous Mn3+ defects, oxygen vacancies, and Cu+/Cu2+ redox sites. Thus, the Cu doping facilitates the transport and adsorption of more H2O2 molecules to the catalytic sites, significantly increasing the catalytic rate. In contrast, pristine MnO2 exhibits negligible catalytic performance for H2O2 reduction because of its slow catalytic kinetics and low electrical conductivity. The Cu-MnO2 catalyst exhibits higher sensitivity (105.7 μA·mM−1·cm−2), a lower detection limit (0.6 μM), and a broader linear range (0.005 ∼ 4.2 mM) compared to pristine δ-MnO2.