Nickel sulfide-incorporated sulfur-doped graphitic carbon nitride nanohybrid interface for non-enzymatic electrochemical sensing of glucose

A nickel sulfide-incorporated sulfur-doped graphitic carbon nitride (NiS/S-g-C₃N₄) nanohybrid was utilized as an interface material for the non-enzymatic sensing of glucose in an alkaline medium (0.1 M NaOH). The precursors used in the preparation of NiS/S-g-C₃N₄ hybrid were thiourea and nickel nitrate hexahydrate as the sulfur and nickel sources, respectively. The HRTEM results reveal that NiS nanoparticles incorporated on the S-g-C₃N₄ nanosheet surface could enhance the electrocatalytic activity and electrical conductivity. The prepared NiS/S-g-C₃N₄ crystalline nature, surface functionalities, graphitic nature, thermal stability and surface composition were investigated using XRD, FT-IR, Raman spectroscopy, TGA and XPS analyses. The NiS/S-g-C₃N₄ modified electrode was used for the non-enzymatic sensing of glucose at an applied potential of 0.55 V vs. Ag/AgCl with a detection limit of 1.5 μM (S/N = 3), sensitivity of 80 μA mM^-1 cm^-2 and the response time of the fabricated sensor was close to 5 s. Different inorganic ions and organic substances did not interfere during glucose sensing. The NiS/S-g-C₃N₄ nanohybrid material could be extended for a real sample analysis and open the way for diverse opportunities in the electrochemical sensing of glucose.

Layer-by-Layer Motif Heteroarchitecturing of N,S-Codoped Reduced Graphene Oxide-Wrapped Ni/NiS Nanoparticles for the Electrochemical Oxidation of Water

A new heterostructured material is synthesized with lamellar arrangements in nanoscale precision through an innovative synthetic approach. The self-assembled Ni-based cyano-bridged coordination polymer flakes (Ni-CP) and graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets with a layered morphology (Ni-CP/GO) are used as precursors for the synthesis of multicomponent hybrid materials. Annealing of Ni-CP/GO in nitrogen at 450 °C allows the formation of Ni₃ C/rGO nanocomposites. Grinding Ni-CP/GO and thiourea and annealing under the same conditions produces N,S-codoped reduced GO-wrapped NiS₂ flakes (NiS₂ /NS-rGO). Interestingly, further heating up to 550 °C allows the phase transformation of NiS₂ into NiS accompanied by the formation of a face-centered cubic (FCC-Ni) metal phase between NS-rGO layers (FCC-Ni-NiS/NS-rGO). Among all the materials, the resulting FCC-Ni-NiS/NS-rGO exhibits good electrocatalytic activity and stability toward the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) owing to the synergistic effect of multiphases, the well-designed alternating layered structures on the nanoscale with abundant active sites.

Boosting Supercapacitor Performance of Graphene by Coupling with Nitrogen-Doped Hollow Carbon Frameworks

Graphene as a suitable electrode has been extensively used for electrochemical double-layer capacitors based on its excellent properties, including high electrical conductivity and large specific surface area. However, one of the drawbacks is the unavoidable stacking tendency between the graphene nanosheets, resulting in limited electrochemically specific surface area. Herein, novel graphene nanosheets supported by hollow nitrogen-doped carbon frameworks derived from ZIF-8 (GPNC) were fabricated through a simple polyethyleneimine (PEI)-assisted pyrolysis strategy, to boost capacitance performance. Benefiting from the unique scaffold/support role of hollow nitrogen-doped carbon frameworks within the graphene interlayer, the GPNC with a large specific surface area, along with ample micropore/mesopore channels and high nitrogen content, is capable of facilitating electron and electrolyte ion migration kinetics and enhancing intrinsic electrochemical activity. Thus, the GPNC exhibits the highest charge storage of 218 F g^-1 and superior rate capability of 74 % when the current density increased from 0.5 to 20 Ag^-1 in comparison to pristine graphene and common ZIF-derived carbon/graphene electrodes. The assembled GPNC//GPNC two-electrode system further delivers a maximum power of 9080 Wkg^-1 with outstanding electrochemical retention of 84 % over 10 000 cycles.

Layer-by-Layer Assembly: Recent Progress from Layered Assemblies to Layered Nanoarchitectonics

As an emerging concept for the development of new materials with nanoscale features, nanoarchitectonics has received significant recent attention. Among the various approaches that have been developed in this area, the fixed-direction construction of functional materials, such as layered fabrication, offers a helpful starting point to demonstrate the huge potential of nanoarchitectonics. In particular, the combination of nanoarchitectonics with layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly and a large degree of freedom in component availability and technical applicability would offer significant benefits to the fabrication of functional materials. In this Minireview, recent progress in LbL assembly is briefly summarized. After introducing the basics of LbL assembly, recent advances in LbL research are discussed, categorized according to physical, chemical, and biological innovations, along with the fabrication of hierarchical structures. Examples of LbL assemblies with graphene oxide are also described to demonstrate the broad applicability of LbL assembly, even with a fixed material.

Atomic Layer Deposition of Nickel Carbide from a Nickel Amidinate Precursor and Hydrogen Plasma

A new atomic layer deposition (ALD) process for depositing nickel carbide (Ni₃C _x) thin films is reported, using bis( N, N'-di- tert-butylacetamidinato)nickel(II) and H₂ plasma. The process shows a good layer-by-layer film growth behavior with a saturated film growth rate of 0.039 nm/cycle for a fairly wide process temperature window from 75 to 250 °C. Comprehensive material characterizations are performed on the Ni₃C _x films deposited at 95 °C with various H₂ plasma pulse lengths from 5 to 12 s, and no appreciable difference is found with the change of the plasma pulse length. The deposited Ni₃C _x films are fairly pure, smooth, and conductive, and the x in the nominal formula of Ni₃C _x is approximately 0.7. The ALD Ni₃C _x films are polycrystalline with a rhombohedral Ni₃C crystal structure, and the films are free of nanocrystalline graphite or amorphous carbon. Last, we demonstrate that, by using this ALD process, highly uniform Ni₃C _x films can be conformally deposited into deep narrow trenches with an aspect ratio as high as 20:1, which thereby highlights the broad and promising applicability of this process for conformal Ni₃C _x film coatings on complex high-aspect-ratio 3D architectures in general.