Electrochemical sensor for formaldehyde based on Pt–Pd nanoparticles and a Nafion-modified glassy carbon electrode

A novel electrochemical sensor for the determination of formaldehyde is introduced based on electrodepositing nanostructured platinum–palladium alloy in Nafion film-coated glassy carbon electrode. Bimetallic Pt–Pd nanoparticles are found to be uniformly dispersed in Nafion film, as confirmed by scanning electron microscopic analysis. Energy dispersed X-ray analysis is used to characterize the composition of metal present in the nanoparticle-modified electrodes. The electrocatalytical behavior of the electrode is investigated by cyclic voltammetry and linear sweep voltammetry. Experimental results show that the electrode displays a remarked electrocatalytic activity for the oxidation of formaldehyde and exhibits a linear relationship in the range of 10 μM to 1 mM, with a detection limit of 3 μM in acidic solution. The low detection limit, wide linear range, and high sensitivity of the sensor make it valuable for further application.

[1]  Yan-hui Xu,et al.  Facile fabrication and electrocatalytic activity of Pt0.9Pd0.1 alloy film catalysts , 2007 .

[2]  R. Compton,et al.  The use of nanoparticles in electroanalysis: a review , 2006, Analytical and bioanalytical chemistry.

[3]  M. Forsyth,et al.  Platinum electrodeposition for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells , 2001 .

[4]  Juan Jiang,et al.  Photographic production of metal nano-particles for fuel cell electrodes , 2006 .

[5]  Xuan Dai,et al.  Anodic stripping voltammetry of arsenic(III) using gold nanoparticle-modified electrodes. , 2004, Analytical chemistry.

[6]  J C Septon,et al.  Workplace air sampling and polarographic determination of formaldehyde. , 1982, American Industrial Hygiene Association journal.

[7]  I. Willner,et al.  Nanostructured Gold Colloid Electrodes , 2000 .

[8]  G. R. Möhlmann,et al.  Formaldehyde Detection in Air by Laser-Induced Fluorescence , 1985 .

[9]  John Wang,et al.  Electrocatalytic reduction of oxygen by a platinum nanoparticle/carbon nanotube composite electrode , 2005 .

[10]  P. He,et al.  Applications of Carbon Nanotubes in Electrochemical DNA Biosensors , 2005 .

[11]  C. R. Martin,et al.  Effect of hydrophobic interactions on the rates of ionic diffusion in nafion films at electrode surfaces , 1983 .

[12]  M. J. Ball,et al.  Surface X-ray scattering studies of the growth of Pd thin films on the Pt(001) electrode surface and the effects of the adsorption of CO , 2003 .

[13]  Marina Scarpa,et al.  Potentiometric detection of formaldehyde in air by an aldehyde dehydrogenase FET , 1996 .

[14]  I. Hamerton,et al.  Nanocatalysts impregnated polythiophene electrodes for the electrooxidation of formic acid , 2007 .

[15]  Allen J. Bard,et al.  Electrochemical Methods: Fundamentals and Applications , 1980 .

[16]  Xiaohong Li,et al.  A new Solid-State pH Sensor Based on a Platinum Nanoparticle Surface Coated with Poly(quinoxaline), and its Application , 2006 .

[17]  Wanzhi. Wei,et al.  Nano-silver/multi-walled carbon nanotube composite films for hydrogen peroxide electroanalysis , 2008 .

[18]  T. Dumas,et al.  Determination of formaldehyde in air by gas chromatography , 1982 .

[19]  L. Bulhões,et al.  Electrochemical behavior of Ni particles modified polypyrrole films studied by EQCN technique , 2005 .

[20]  A. Aldaz,et al.  Electrochemical structure-sensitive behaviour of irreversibly adsorbed palladium on Pt(100), Pt(111) and Pt(110) in an acidic medium , 1993 .

[21]  Judith Rishpon,et al.  An electrochemical biosensor for formaldehyde , 2000 .

[22]  Peng Song,et al.  Formaldehyde-sensing characteristics of perovskite La0.68Pb0.32FeO3 nano-materials , 2005 .

[23]  M. Alagar,et al.  Synthesis and characterization of metal nanoparticles-decorated PPY–CNT composite and their electrocatalytic oxidation of formic acid and formaldehyde for fuel cell applications , 2007 .

[24]  Mary Lynn Grayeski,et al.  New chemiluminescent derivatizing agent for the analysis of aldehydes and ketones by high-performance liquid chromatography with peroxyoxalate chemiluminescence , 1987 .

[25]  Wanzhi. Wei,et al.  Fabrication of a copper nanoparticle/chitosan/carbon nanotube-modified glassy carbon electrode for electrochemical sensing of hydrogen peroxide and glucose , 2008 .

[26]  N. Alonso‐Vante,et al.  Methanol tolerant oxygen reduction on carbon-supported Pt–Ni alloy nanoparticles , 2005 .

[27]  Joseph Wang,et al.  Electrocatalysis and amperometric detection of aliphatic aldehydes at platinum-palladium alloy coated glassy carbon electrode , 1996 .

[28]  Chen Yang,et al.  Study of the nonenzymatic glucose sensor based on highly dispersed Pt nanoparticles supported on carbon nanotubes. , 2007, Talanta.

[29]  Y. Chai,et al.  Direct electrocatalytic reduction of hydrogen peroxide based on Nafion and copper oxide nanoparticles modified Pt electrode , 2008 .

[30]  Chaoyang Wang,et al.  Three-dimensional analysis of transport and electrochemical reactions in polymer electrolyte fuel cells , 2004 .

[31]  P. Fedkiw,et al.  Electrodeposition of high-surface area platinum in a well adherent nafion film on glassy carbon , 1996 .

[32]  Xiaohong Zhu,et al.  PdCu alloy nanoclusters: generation and activity tuning for electrocatalytic oxidation of nitrite , 2007 .

[33]  R. Masel,et al.  Effects of Nafion as a binding agent for unsupported nanoparticle catalysts , 2003 .