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Hierarchical Nafion enhanced carbon aerogels for sensing applications

journal contribution
posted on 2016-02-14, 00:00 authored by B Weng, A Ding, Y Liu, J Diao, Joselito RazalJoselito Razal, K T Lau, R Shepherd, C Li, J Chen
This work describes the fabrication of hierarchical 3D Nafion enhanced carbon aerogels (NECAGs) for sensing applications via a fast freeze drying method. Graphene oxide, multiwalled carbon nanotubes and Nafion were mixed and extruded into liquid nitrogen followed by the removal of ice crystals by freeze drying. The addition of Nafion enhanced the mechanical strength of NECAGs and effective control of the cellular morphology and pore size was achieved. The resultant NECAGs demonstrated high strength, low density, and high specific surface area and can achieve a modulus of 20 kPa, an electrical conductivity of 140 S m(-1), and a specific capacity of 136.8 F g(-1) after reduction. Therefore, NECAG monoliths performed well as a gas sensor and as a biosensor with high sensitivity and selectivity. The remarkable sensitivity of 8.52 × 10(3)μA mM(-1) cm(-2) was obtained in dopamine (DA) detection, which is two orders of magnitude better than the literature reported values using graphene aerogel electrodes made from a porous Ni template. These outstanding properties make the NECAG a promising electrode candidate for a wide range of applications. Further in-depth investigations are being undertaken to probe the structure-property relationship of NECAG monoliths prepared under various conditions.

History

Journal

Nanoscale

Volume

8

Issue

6

Pagination

3416 - 3424

Publisher

Royal Society of Chemistry

Location

Cambridge, Eng.

ISSN

2040-3364

eISSN

2040-3372

Language

eng

Publication classification

C Journal article; C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal

Copyright notice

2016, Royal Society of Chemistry