Synthesis of Pb nanowires-Au nanoparticles nanostructure decorated with reduced graphene oxide for electrochemical sensing

Graphene sheets are a sp(2)-hybridized carbon material that offer extraordinary electrical conductivity and excellent thermal and mechanical properties. They are expected to find use in a wide variety of applications. In this study, a new novel electrocatalyst, a Pb nanowires-Au nanoparticles nanocomposite decorated with reduced graphene oxide (rGO-Pb NWs-Au NPs), was successfully synthesized by an effective and simple approach. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman spectroscopy were employed to observe the as-prepared nanomaterial. In addition, the electrochemical behaviors of a rGO-Pb NWs-Au NPs modified glassy carbon (GC) electrode were evaluated by cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry. The final prepared sensor exhibited favorable electroreduction activity towards H2O5 with a remarkable sensitivity of 552.43 mu A mM(-1) cm(-2), a wide linear range of 0.005-1.25 mM, a detection limit of 0.6 mu M and a rapid response time (within 5 s). Moreover, the sensor also exhibited good reproducibility, selectivity and stability. Therefore, the present work also provides a potential practicable approach to fabricate various of non-enzymatic amperometric sensors, such as sensors for the detection of glucose, urea, ascorbic acid and dopamine.