Silver nanoparticles decorated stain-etched mesoporous silicon for sensitive, selective detection of ascorbic acid

Abstract

Novel silver nanoparticles decorated porous silicon (AgNPs-PSi) was fabricated via stain etching of Si, followed by simple immersion plating of Ag and applied successfully for enhanced electro-oxidation and quantification of ascorbic acid (AA). The newly developed nanocomposite consists of mesoporous Si (<20 nm) decorated by crystalline 15–50 nm AgNPs. Remarkable sensing performance was achieved with high sensitivity (1.279 μA μM cm−2), fast response time (<5 s), wide linear range (20–600 μM: R2 = 0.9933), low limit of detection (0.83 μM at S/N = 3) and excellent anti-interference and repeatability behavior. The current Ag-PSi modified glassy carbon electrode was further applied to a commercially available vitamin C supplement with satisfactory detection result.