Impedance study of formic acid oxidation on platinum electrodes

Printable Nonenzymatic Glucose Biosensors Using Carbon Nanotube-PtNP Nanocomposites Modified with AuRu for Improved Selectivity

Nonenzymatic glucose biosensors have the potential for a more reliable in vivo functionality due to the reduced risk of biorecognition element degradation. However, these novel sensing mechanisms often are nanoparticle-based and have nonlinear responses, which makes it difficult to gauge their potential utility against more conventional enzymatic biosensors. Moreover, these nonenzymatic biosensors often suffer from poor selectivity that needs to be better addressed before being used in vivo. To address these problems, here we present an amperometric nonenzymatic glucose biosensor fabricated using one-step electrodeposition of Au and Ru nanoparticles on the surface of a carbon-nanotube-based platinum-nanoparticle hybrid in conductive polymer. Using benchtop evaluations, we demonstrate that the bimetallic catalyst of Au-Ru nanoparticles can enable the nonenzymatic detection of glucose with a superior performance and stability. Furthermore, our biosensor shows good selectivity against other interferents, with a nonlinear dynamic range of 1-19 mM glucose. The Au-Ru catalyst has a conventional linear range of 1-10 mM, with a sensitivity of 0.2347 nA/(μM mm²) ± 0.0198 (n = 3) and a limit of detection of 0.068 mM (signal-to-noise, S/N = 3). The biosensor also exhibits a good repeatability and stability at 37 °C over a 3 week incubation period. Finally, we use a modified Butler-Volmer nonlinear analytical model to evaluate the impact of geometrical and chemical design parameters on our nonenzymatic biosensor's performance, which may be used to help optimize the performance of this class of biosensors.

The effect of temperature on the coupled slow and fast dynamics of an electrochemical oscillator

The coupling among disparate time-scales is ubiquitous in many chemical and biological systems. We have recently investigated the effect of fast and, long-term, slow dynamics in surface processes underlying some electrocatalytic reactions. Herein we report on the effect of temperature on the coupled slow and fast dynamics of a model system, namely the electro-oxidation of formic acid on platinum studied at five temperatures between 5 and 45 °C. The main result was a turning point found at 25 °C, which clearly defines two regions for the temperature dependency on the overall kinetics. In addition, the long-term evolution allowed us to compare reaction steps related to fast and slow evolutions. Results were discussed in terms of the key role of PtO species, which chemically couple slow and fast dynamics. In summary we were able to: (a) identify the competition between two reaction steps as responsible for the occurrence of two temperature domains; (b) compare the relative activation energies of these two steps; and (c) suggest the role of a given reaction step on the period-increasing set of reactions involved in the oscillatory dynamics. The introduced methodology could be applied to other systems to uncover the temperature dependence of complex chemical networks.

Nanoporous PdNi Alloy Nanowires As Highly Active Catalysts for the Electro-Oxidation of Formic Acid

Highly active and durable catalysts for formic acid oxidation are crucial to the development of direct formic acid fuel cell. In this letter, we report the synthesis, characterization, and electrochemical testing of nanoporous Pd(57)Ni(43) alloy nanowires for use as the electrocatalyst towards formic acid oxidation (FAO). These nanowires are prepared by chemically dealloying of Ni from Ni-rich PdNi alloy nanowires, and have high surface area. X-ray diffraction data show that the Pd(57)Ni(43) nanowires have the face-centered cubic crystalline structure of pure Pd, whereas X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy confirm the modification of electronic structure of Pd by electron transfer from Ni to Pd. Electrocatalytic activity of the nanowires towards FAO exceeds that of the state-of-the-art Pd/C. More importantly, the nanowires are highly resistant to deactivation. It is proposed that the high active surface area and modulated surface properties by Ni are responsible for the improvement of activity and durability. Dealloyed nanoporous Pd(57)Ni(43) alloy nanowires are thus proposed as a promising catalyst towards FAO.