Diameter effect of electrospun carbon fiber support for the catalysis of Pt nanoparticles in glucose oxidation

Abstract

Electrospun carbon fibers (CFs) with diameters of 39nm (CF39nm), 158nm (CF158nm), and 309nm (CF309nm) were used as Pt-catalyst supports for a glucose oxidation reaction. Based on experimentally balanced comparisons using electrochemical methods, CF39nm with higher curvature and smaller diameter had a greater number of Pt atoms on the surface. Compared with the CF158nm and CF309nm systems, CF39nm has a higher electrochemically real surface area and greater catalytic activity on glucose oxidation. The Tafel analyses demonstrated that the exchange current density from an early rest potential (−0.81V) for the CF39nm system was 9.08×10−3mAcm−2, greater than 8.41×10−3mAcm−2 for CF158nm-supported Pt nanoparticles and 7.39×10−3mAcm−2 for CF309nm-supported Pt nanoparticles. In addition, as data supporting the catalytic characterization for glucose oxidation, all of the CF-supported Pt nanoparticles showed remarkable tolerance to foreign substances in the application of a non-enzymatic glucose sensor, where CF39nm-supported Pt nanoparticles (Pt/CF39nm) showed a higher sensitivity (2.03μAmM−1cm−2), detection limit (33μM), and linear range (0.3–17mM). The high recovery by serum sample analyses further confirmed the potential of Pt/CF39nm as a glucose sensor. The promising results showed the feasibility of these electrospun CFs being applied for both glucose fuel cells and non-enzymatic glucose sensors.