Solubilization of Carbon Nanotubes by Nafion toward the Preparation of Amperometric Biosensors

TLDR

The association of carbon nanotubes with Nafion does not impair their electrocatalytic properties. Using Nafion as a solubilizing agent for CNT overcomes a major obstacle to creating CNT‑based biosensing devices. The study demonstrates that single‑wall and multiwall CNT can be solubilized in the presence of the perfluorinated polymer Nafion. CNT/Nafion‑modified glassy‑carbon electrodes exhibit a strong, stable electrocatalytic response to hydrogen peroxide, accelerate its redox reaction, enable low‑potential, highly selective glucose biosensing, and open avenues for diverse chemical sensors and nanoscale electronic devices.

Abstract

The ability to solubilize single-wall and multiwall carbon nanotubes (CNT) in the presence of the perfluorinated polymer Nafion is described. Such use of Nafion as a solubilizing agent for CNT overcomes a major obstacle for creating CNT-based biosensing devices. Their association with Nafion does not impair the electrocatalytic properties of CNT. The resulting CNT/Nafion modified glassy-carbon electrodes exhibit a strong and stable electrocatalytic response toward hydrogen peroxide. The marked acceleration of the hydrogen peroxide redox process is very attractive for the operation of oxidase-based amperometric biosensors, as illustrated for the highly selective low-potential (-0.05 V vs Ag/AgCl) biosensing of glucose. These findings open the door for using CNT in a wide range of chemical sensors and nanoscale electronic devices.