Fabrication, characterization and sensor application of electrospun polyurethane nanofibers filled with carbon nanotubes and silver nanoparticles

Abstract

We reported here the electrospinning preparation of polyurethane nanofibers filled with carbon nanotubes and silver nanoparticles (PU–MWCNT–AgNP) and the subsequent fabrication of a novel non-enzymatic amperometric biosensor for analytical determination of hydrogen peroxide. The morphologies of the as-spun PU–MWCNT–AgNP hybrid nanofibers were observed by scanning and transmission electron microscopy. The interaction between MWCNTs and AgNPs in the electrospun nanofibers was studied by differential scanning calorimetry and dynamic mechanical analysis. The cyclic voltammetry experiments indicate that PU–MWCNT–AgNP nanofiber modified electrodes have high electrocatalytic activity on hydrogen peroxide, and the chronoamperometry measurements illustrate that this electrospun sensor has high sensitivity for detecting hydrogen peroxide. Our study further confirms the remarkable synergistic effect of MWCNTs and AgNPs on the significant improvement of the conductivity of electrospun nanofibers and the electrocatalytic activity, as well as the sensitivity of the fabricated non-enzymatic sensor. Under an optimal experimental condition, the created biosensor for detecting hydrogen peroxide has a sensitivity of 160.6 μA mM⁻¹ cm⁻², a wide linear range from 0.5 to 30 mM and a detection limit of 18.6 μM (S/N = 3), which indicates that this novel and simple strategy for fabricating electrochemical sensor by an electrospinning technique has wide potential applications in bio-analysis and detection.