Preparation of Partially Unzipped Carbon Nanotube/Ag (PUCNTs/Ag) Nanocomposite and Its Application for H₂O₂ Based Non-Enzymatic Sensor.

In the present work, the nanocomposite of the silver nanoparticles decorated partially unzipped carbon nanotubes (PUCNTs) (PUCNTs/Ag) was fabricated by in situ method, and its application as a sensitive non-enzymatic hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) sensor was then explored correspondingly. The measurements of transmission electron microscopy (TEM), fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and ultraviolet visible (UV-vis) absorption spectrum proved that the PUCNTs/Ag composite has been successfully prepared and the Ag nanoparticles dispersed on the surface of the PUCNTs and entered the inner of unzipped MWCNTs. Cyclic voltammetric (CV) measurement indicated that the PUCNTs/Ag nanocomposite showed the well-defined redox characteristics in 0.1 M phosphate buffer solution (PBS, pH = 7.5), and under the optimized experimental conditions, the current response of the as-obtained sensor towards electrochemical oxidation of H2O2 was linear with the concentration of H2O2 in the range of 0.0419 mM to 87 mM (R = 0.997) in the solution of 0.1 M PBS (pH = 7.5) at the applied potential of 0 V. The detection limit was 1 μM with the sensitivity calculated as 1.115 × 103 μA · M-1 · cm-2 and the fast response achieved within 3 s. The constructed non-enzymatic sensor is one of the promising candidates due to it's good sensitivity, selectivity, and reproducibility.