Enhanced electrochemical response for mercury ion detection based on poly(3-hexylthiophene) hybridized with multi-walled carbon nanotubes

Abstract

In this study, multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) were covalently modified by grafting poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) on to their surfaces. The modified MWNTs (MWNT-g-P3HT) showed enhanced dispersibility in common solvents, such as THF. Due to the intimate interaction between the P3HT and MWNTs, the MWNT-g-P3HT showed improved miscibility with P3HT, and the composite of the MWNT-g-P3HT and P3HT (MWNT-g-P3HT@P3HT) was likely to form continuous films. Notably, the MWNT-g-P3HT@P3HT composite films demonstrated an enhanced electrochemical response for the quantitative detection of Hg²⁺ ions, due to the synergistic effect of the electrocatalytic properties from the MWNTs and P3HT.