The intensification of luminol electrochemiluminescence by metallic oxide nanoparticles

In this work, the intensification of luminol electrochemiluminescence (ECL) by metallic oxide nanoparticles (MONPs), as ZnO, MnO2, In2O3 and TiO2, under alkaline condition is reported and the related mechanism is studied. It is found that all four types of those MONPs exhibit the effect toward the ECL intensification of luminol. Furthermore, the silica sol-gel film is taken to immobilize the MONPs onto the platinum electrodes. The so-obtained modified electrodes also show the enhanced ECL and better signal/noise ratio, as well improved signal stability. Finally, the ECL reagent, luminol, is immobilized together with the MONPs onto the electrode surface to perform as the ECL sensor. On resulting sensors, good linear responses are obtained toward hydrogen peroxide. The mechanism of intensification of luminol ECL by MONPs is discussed in this paper. It is proposed that the ECL intensification can be attributed to the production of reactive oxygen species, as well as the adsorption of luminol on surface of MONPs.