Gold nanoparticle arrays directly grown on nanostructured indium tin oxide electrodes: Characterization and electroanalytical application

Improving Seeding Growth Method for Preparing Densely Attached Spherical Gold Nanoparticles on Solid Substrate

In this paper, a modified seed-mediated growth approach to produce gold nanoparticles through HAuCl4 chemical reduction in water fabricated by growth process on indium tin oxide (ITO) was proposed. Particular attention was devoted to exploring the seeding and growth number cycle process in the formation of Au nanoparticles on the ITO surface. In agreement with the assumed analytical model, we have found that the absorbance maximum intensity [Formula: see text] depends substantially on the metal nanoparticles’ sizes, shape and density on the ITO surface. The deposited nanoparticles’ synthesized parameters were evaluated by the surface images obtained using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), UV-Vis spectroscopy and electrochemical measurements. The results show that the electrochemical responses of the as-prepared sample were significantly improved, in particular for the 2-cycle seeded particles followed by one-cycle growth.

Electrochemical Deposition of Gold Nanoparticles on Reduced Graphene Oxide by Fast Scan Cyclic Voltammetry for the Sensitive Determination of As(III)

In this study, a stable, sensitive electrochemical sensor was fabricated by the electrochemical codeposition of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) and gold nanoparticles on a glassy carbon electrode (rGO-Au_nano/GCE) using cyclic voltammetry (CV), which enabled a simple and controllable electrode modification strategy for the determination of trace As(III) by square wave anodic stripping voltammetry (SWASV). SWASV, CV, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to characterize the electrochemical properties and morphology of the proposed sensing platform. The number of sweep segments, the deposition potential and the deposition time were optimized to obtain ideal sensitivity. The presence of rGO from the electroreduction of graphene oxide on the sensing interface effectively enlarged the specific surface area and consequently improved the preconcentration capacity for As(III). The rGO-Au_nano/GCE sensor exhibited outstanding detection performance for As(III) due to the combined effect of Au_nano and rGO formed during the electroreduction process. Under the optimized conditions, a linear range from 13.375 × 10⁻⁹ to 668.75 × 10⁻⁹ mol/L (1.0 to 50.0 μg/L) was obtained with a detection limit of 1.07 × 10⁻⁹ mol/L (0.08 μg/L) (S/N = 3). The reproducibility and reliability of the rGO-Au_nano/GCE sensor were also verified by performing 8 repetitive measurements. Finally, the rGO-Au_nano/GCE sensor was used for the analysis of real samples with satisfactory results.

Sensitive electrochemical detection of nitric oxide based on AuPt and reduced graphene oxide nanocomposites

Since nitric oxide (NO) plays a critical role in many biological processes, its precise detection is essential toward an understanding of its specific functions. Here we report on a facile and environmentally compatible strategy for the construction of an electrochemical sensor based on reduced graphene oxide (rGO) and AuPt bimetallic nanoparticles. The prepared nanocomposites were further employed for the electroanalysis of NO using differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) and amperometric methods. The dependence of AuPt molar ratios on the electrochemical performance was investigated. Through the combination of the advantages of the high conductivity from rGO and highly electrocatalytic activity from AuPt bimetallic nanoparticles, the AuPt-rGO based NO sensor exhibited a high sensitivity of 7.35 μA μM(-1) and a low detection limit of 2.88 nM. Additionally, negligible interference from common ions or organic molecules was observed, and the AuPt-rGO modified electrode demonstrated excellent stability. Moreover, this optimized electrochemical sensor was practicable for efficiently monitoring the NO released from rat cardiac cells, which were stimulated by l-arginine (l-arg), showing that stressed cells generated over 10 times more NO than normal cells. The novel sensor developed in this study may have significant medical diagnostic applications for the prevention and monitoring of disease.

Physical vapor deposited highly oriented V2O5 thin films for electrocatalytic oxidation of hydrazine

The proposed work is focused on the effect of substrates on the electrocatalytic performance of physical vapor deposited vanadium pentoxide (V₂O₅) films.

Laser-induced forward transfer of high-viscosity silver precursor ink for non-contact printed electronics

Non-contact printing of high-viscosity silver precursor inks was achieved to provide highly conductive lines by a laser-induced forward transfer technique.

Cu/MoS2/ITO based hybrid structure for catalysis of hydrazine oxidation

We have successfully demonstrated large-area and continuous MoS₂ films grown on indium tin oxide (ITO) substrates by RF sputtering followed by a post-annealing process.

Properties of plasmonic arrays produced by pulsed-laser nanostructuring of thin Au films

A brief description of research advances in the area of short-pulse-laser nanostructuring of thin Au films is followed by examples of experimental data and a discussion of our results on the characterization of structural and optical properties of gold nanostructures. These consist of partially spherical or spheroidal nanoparticles (NPs) which have a size distribution (80 ± 42 nm) and self-organization characterized by a short-distance order (length scale ≈140 nm). For the NP shapes produced, an observably broader tuning range (of about 150 nm) of the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) band is obtained by renewal thin film deposition and laser annealing of the NP array. Despite the broadened SPR bands, which indicate damping confirmed by short dephasing times not exceeding 4 fs, the self-organized Au NP structures reveal quite a strong enhancement of the optical signal. This was consistent with the near-field modeling and micro-Raman measurements as well as a test of the electrochemical sensing capability.

Modification of indium tin oxide with dendrimer-encapsulated nanoparticles to provide enhanced stable electrochemiluminescence of Ru(bpy)3(2+)/tripropylamine while preserving optical transparency of indium tin oxide for sensitive electrochemiluminescence-based analyses

Here, we report highly enhanced stable electrogenerated chemiluminescence (ECL) of Ru(bpy)3(2+) (bpy = 2,2'-bipyridyl) with tripropylamine (TPrA) coreactant on indium tin oxide (ITO) electrodes modified with amine-terminated dendrimers encapsulating catalytic nanoparticles while maintaining optical transparency of ITO and feasibility of the modified ITOs to sensitive ECL-based assays. As model systems, we prepared Pt and Au dendrimer-encapsulated nanoparticles (DENs) using amine-terminated sixth-generation poly(amido amine) dendrimers and subsequently immobilized the DENs onto ITO surfaces via electrooxidative grafting of the terminal amines of dendrimers to the surfaces. The resulting DEN-modified ITOs preserved good optical transparency of ITO and exhibited highly catalyzed electrochemical oxidation of Ru(bpy)3(2+)/TPrA, leading to significantly increased ECL emission. Especially, the Pt DEN-modified ITO electrode provides negligible transmittance drop, i.e., only ∼1.99% over the entire visible region, and exhibited not only much enhanced (i.e., ∼213-fold increase compared to ECL obtained from bare ITO) but also stable ECL emission under consecutive potential scans from 0.00 to 1.10 V for 10 cycles, which allowed ∼329 times more sensitive ECL-based analysis of nicotine using the Pt DEN-modified ITO compared with the use of bare ITO.

Gold nanonetwork film on the ITO surface exhibiting one-dimensional optical properties

A network of gold nanostructures exhibiting one-dimensional gold nanostructure properties may become a prospective novel structure for optical, electrical and catalytic applications benefited by its unusual characteristics resulting from the collective properties of individual nanostructures in the network. In this paper, we demonstrate a facile method for the formation of high-density gold nanonetwork film on the substrate surface composed of quasi-1D nanoparticles (typically fusiform) with length ca. 10 nm - via reduction of gold ions in the presence of nanoseeds attached surface, binary surfactants of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide and hexamethyleneteramine and Ag+ ions. The length of the nanonetworks can be up to ca. 100 nm, which corresponds to the aspect ratio of ca. 10. The quasi-1D gold nanostructures as well as the nanonetworks were found to be sensitive to the binary surfactants system and the Ag+ ions as they can only be formed if all the chemicals are available in the reaction. The nanonetworks exhibit unique 1D optical properties with the presence of transverse and longitudinal surface plasmon resonance absorption. Owing to their peculiar structures that are composed of small quasi-1D nanoparticles, the nanonetworks may produce unusual optical and catalytic properties, which are potentially used in surface-enhanced Raman scattering, catalysis and optical and non-linear optical applications.

Surface observation for seed-mediated growth attachment of gold nanoparticles on a glassy carbon substrate

A seed-mediated growth method for surface modification was applied to the attachment of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) to glassy carbon (GC) surfaces. By simply immersing a GC plate at first into a seed solution containing 4 nm Au nano-seed particles and then into a growth solution containing HAuCl(4), ascorbic acid and cetyltrimethyammonium bromide, AuNPs could be successfully attached to the GC surface via the growth of nanoparticles. A possible control of the size and density of AuNPs on GC was examined by observing surface images with a field-emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) after several preparations with different immersion times. Compared with previous results on the growth of AuNPs on indium tin oxide (ITO) surfaces, it was characteristic that the AuNPs attached to GC surfaces exhibited smaller size and higher density as well as a flatter and non-crystal-like morphology. In addition, for performing the dense attachment of regular nano-sized AuNPs on GC surfaces, immersion for 2 h into the growth solution was sufficient. Longer immersion for 24 h caused an irregular growth of bold Au micro-crystals, while 24 h was necessary in the case of AuNPs on ITO surfaces. Shorter seeding and growth times were found to be effective for a sparse attachment of smaller Au nanoparticles whose size was ca. 20 nm. It was clarified that the seed-mediated growth method for surface modification was valid for fabricating a nanointerface composed of AuNPs on GC surfaces.

Gold nanoparticle-modified ITO electrode for electrogenerated chemiluminescence: well-preserved transparency and highly enhanced activity

Although it is desirable to use transparent indium tin oxide (ITO)-coated glass substrates as working electrodes for electrogenerated chemiluminescence (ECL), their applications in ECL studies of the Ru(bpy)32+ (bpy, 2,2'-bipyridine)/tri-n-propylamine (TPrA) system have been limited because of the large overpotential of TPrA oxidation and the instability of the ITO surface at high anodic potentials. Here, we describe a simple method to achieve high ECL activity using ITO electrodes modified with gold nanoparticles (GNPs). The GNPs have been capped with fluorosurfactant ligands (i.e., Zonyl FSO). Much more facile TPrA oxidation was achieved by using the modified electrode, and an intense low-oxidation-potential (LOP) ECL signal was observed at approximately 0.88 V versus SCE. The electrode transmittance drop upon modification was generally less than 5% over the visible spectrum when small-sized GNPs (approximately 4 nm) were employed. The well-preserved transparency and highly enhanced activity make the modified electrode promising for ECL studies.

Synthesis and electrochemical applications of gold nanoparticles

This review covers recent advances in synthesis and electrochemical applications of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). Described approaches include the synthesis of AuNPs via designing and choosing new protecting ligands; and applications in electrochemistry of AuNPs including AuNPs-based bioelectrochemical sensors, such as direct electrochemistry of redox-proteins, genosensors and immunosensors, and AuNPs as enhancing platform for electrocatalysis and electrochemical sensors.