Role of Nanoparticles in Voltammetric Signal Enhancement Exhibited by Layer-by-Layer (LbL) Gold Nanoparticle-Modified Screen-Printed Carbon Electrodes (SPCEs)

• Main Author: Ahiadu, Ben K
• Format: Others
• Language: English
• Published: Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University 2017
• Subjects: Ahiadu Ben's thesis; Chemistry
• Online Access: https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/3232; https://dc.etsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4675&context=etd

Screen-printed electrodes (SPEs) have found wide use as sensing platforms due to their simple fabrication, customizability in terms of geometry and composition, and relatively low cost of production. Nanoparticles have been incorporated in or interfaced with SPEs in order to improve sensor response or provide electrocatalytic capabilities. Though nanomaterial-modified SPEs are becoming increasingly common sensing platforms, the benefits provided by nanomaterials are often determined through voltammetric studies with common redox probes, such as ferricyanide. However, recent reports have documented the ferri-/ferrocyanide redox couple to be an unreliable system for characterizing some carbon-based electrodes due to the dependence of its electrochemical response on electrode surface effects unrelated to electroactive surface area. In the current studies, we have investigated the voltammetric responses of ferricyanide and other redox probes on bare and gold nanoparticle (AuNP)-modified screen-printed carbon electrodes to determine the potential role of AuNPs in improving sensor response through electrochemical signal enhancement.