Immobilization of Gold Nanoparticles on Nitrided Carbon Fiber Ultramicroelectrodes by Direct Reduction

• Main Author: Affadu-Danful, George
• Format: Others
• Language: English
• Published: Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University 2018
• Subjects: ultramicroelectrodes; gold nanoparticles; cyclic voltammetry; nitrided carbon fiber; Analytical Chemistry; Chemistry; Physical Sciences and Mathematics
• Online Access: https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/3446; https://dc.etsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4905&context=etd

Due to enhanced properties such as large surface area-to-volume ratio, metal nanoparticles are often employed as catalysts for various applications. However, most studies involving nanoparticle catalysts have been conducted on collections of particles rather than single nanoparticles. Results obtained for ensemble systems can be difficult to interpret due to variations in particle loading and interparticle distance, which are often challenging to control and characterize. In this study, two immobilization strategies for incorporating gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) on carbon fiber ultramicroelectrodes (UMEs) were compared with the goal of extending these techniques to nanoelectrodes for studies of single AuNPs. Both layer-by-layer deposition of AuNPs on natural carbon fiber UMEs and direct reduction of AuNPs on nitrided carbon fiber UMEs were explored. Although both methods proved feasible, the direct reduction method seemed to be more effective and should better enable direct comparisons of bare and capped AuNPs.