Atomically dispersed metal catalysts have garnered considerable attention due to their unique properties and superior catalytic activity. The isolation of metal atoms on the matrix offers enhanced catalytic performance even with a small content of noble metal loading. This class of materials provides exciting opportunities to improve the performance of chemical and biochemical sensors. In this work, we have selected Pd as the catalysts because of its high catalytic activity and graphene oxide as the matrix because of its high electrical conductivity and unique electrochemical properties. We have successfully synthesized atomically dispersed Pd on graphene oxide (GO) by wet impregnation method and have focussed on the electrochemical sensing applications, especially in detecting dopamine which is used for disease diagnosis. One of the issues in the electrochemical detection of dopamine is the interfering compounds (e.g. ascorbic acid and uric acid) existing with dopamine as their voltammetric responses overlap with that of dopamine. Due to the enhanced catalytic behavior of Pd metal atoms on GO, we expect that not only sensitivity of the sensor be increased by the enhanced electrochemical reactions, but selectivity can also be enhanced. The potential voltage of the redox reaction of the analytes can be shifted by the catalytic activity, resulting in an improved selectivity for dopamine sensing. Through amperometric and potentiometric techniques, the sensing performance of dopamine for Pd/GO with different loading of Pd on GO will be thoroughly investigated and the sensing mechanism of Pd/GO for each analyte will be discerned.
Project is currently funded by: Member Fees