The influence of precursor selection on electrochemical properties of radiofrequency thermal plasma synthesized graphene

Abstract

As electrode materials, graphene and its derivatives have been the subject of extensive investigation. Graphene has been modified by various types of materials in an effort to enhance its electrode qualities even more. This work sought to understand how the precursor to graphene affected the electrochemical characteristics of the final product and its potential use, unaltered, in the creation of sensors for nitrophenol derivatives. A set of samples of graphene produced using a radiofrequency (RF) thermal plasma jet are presented. Precursors for the creation of graphene included six basic organic compounds: alkanes, alcohols, carboxylic acids, and aldehydes. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) was used to carry out the electrochemical characterization. Square wave voltammetry (SWV) was used to assess the graphene’s electroanalytical performance for the simultaneous detection of 3-nitrophenol and 4-nitrophenol. A graphene sample made from methane had the maximum current response. Using as synthesised methane-originated graphene, two nitrophenol derivatives were successfully detected simulta neously in a concentration range of 10 μM to 500 μM. The type of oxygen functional groups and the edge/plane ratio in the produced graphene were shown to have a significant impact on the graphene electroactivity. Future research ought to focus on improving synthetic conditions in order to enhance desirable characteristics.