Nanoporous Carbon Nanofibers Decorated with Platinum Nanoparticles for Non-Enzymatic Electrochemical Sensing of H2O2

We describe the preparation of nanoporous carbon nanofibers (CNFs) decorated with platinum nanoparticles (PtNPs) in this work by electrospining polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofibers and subsequent carbonization and binding of PtNPs. The fabricated nanoporous CNF-PtNP hybrids were further utilized to modify glass carbon electrodes and used for the non-enzymatic amperometric biosensor for the highly sensitive detection of hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂). The morphologies of the fabricated nanoporous CNF-PtNP hybrids were observed by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and their structure was further investigated with Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area analysis, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and Raman spectrum. The cyclic voltammetry experiments indicate that CNF-PtNP modified electrodes have high electrocatalytic activity toward H₂O₂ and the chronoamperometry measurements illustrate that the fabricated biosensor has a high sensitivity for detecting H₂O₂. We anticipate that the strategies utilized in this work will not only guide the further design and fabrication of functional nanofiber-based biomaterials and nanodevices, but also extend the potential applications in energy storage, cytology, and tissue engineering.