A novel nonenzymatic hydrogen peroxide sensor based on three-dimensional porous Ni foam modified with a Pt electrocatalyst

Abstract

A novel nonenzymatic hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) sensor was simply prepared by depositing Pt nanoparticles (Pt NPs) onto Ni foam using UV-irradiation. Scanning electron microscopy was applied to characterize the changes of morphologies with UV-irradiation time. Energy dispersive spectroscopy confirmed that the Pt NP–Ni foam was mainly composed of Pt and Ni. The Pt NP–Ni foam electrode shared the unique advantages of Pt NPs (such as the good electrocatalytic activity) and Ni foam (such as the high electric conductivity, large surface area and high porosity). Its application in H₂O₂ detection, surprisingly, showed the high sensitivity and low detection limit. The linear range was from 0.005 to 0.85 mM. The sensitivity was 829 μA cm⁻² mM⁻¹ and the detection limit was 0.3 μM (S/N = 3). The H₂O₂ sensor also showed long-term stability. Therefore, the sensor is more suitable for the detection of H₂O₂ concentration.