Monodispersed Ni active sites anchored on N-doped porous carbon nanosheets as high-efficiency electrocatalyst for hydrogen peroxide sensing

Abstract

Metal active species combined with N-doped porous carbon nanosheets usually own excellent electrochemical activity and sensing performance owing to its unique microstructure and composition. In this work, monodispersed Ni active sites anchored on N-doped porous carbon nanosheets (Ni@N–PCN) were facilely prepared via rational metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) route. Firstly, zeolitic imidazolate frameworks-8 (ZIF-8) was in situ grown on physically-exfoliated graphene nanosheets (GN) with homogeneous sandwich-like structure (ZIF-8@GN). Secondly, nickel bonded ZIF-8@GN hybrids (Ni/ZIF-8@GN) were obtained by ionic exchange reaction, and then transformed into Ni@N–PCN by high-temperature pyrolysis. Benefiting from the monodispersed Ni active sites and highly reactive N-doped porous carbon nanosheets (N–PCN), the as-prepared Ni@N–PCN hybrids displayed superior catalytic performance toward hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) sensing. As a result, a highly sensitive electrochemical sensing platform for H2O2 was fabricated with low detection limit (0.032 μM), wide detection linearity (0.2–2332.8 μM), and high sensitivity (6085 μA cm−2 mM−1). Besides, the as-developed electrochemical sensing platform was successfully applied to detect H2O2 contents in biological medicine and food specimens with satisfied results. This study will provide effective guidance for the preparation of novel metal/N-doped carbon nanomaterials and establishment of high-performance electrochemical sensors.