Arrays of copper nanowire electrodes: Preparation, characterization and application as nitrate sensor

•Ensemble of copper nanowires electrodes (CuWNEEs) are prepared by template electrochemical deposition of Cu in track-etched polycarbonate.•CuWNEEs are characterized by SEM and electrochemistry and preparation conditions optimized.•CuWNEEs are sensitive electrochemical nitrate sensors with detection...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Sensors and actuators. B, Chemical Chemical, 2015-02, Vol.207, p.186-192
Main Authors: Stortini, A.M., Moretto, L.M., Mardegan, A., Ongaro, M., Ugo, P.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Array
Arrays
Chlorides
Copper
Electrodes
Membranes
Nanoelectrode
Nanowire
Nanowires
Nitrate
Nitrates
Sensors
Voltammetric sensor
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Summary:•Ensemble of copper nanowires electrodes (CuWNEEs) are prepared by template electrochemical deposition of Cu in track-etched polycarbonate.•CuWNEEs are characterized by SEM and electrochemistry and preparation conditions optimized.•CuWNEEs are sensitive electrochemical nitrate sensors with detection capabilities at the micromolar level. Ensembles of copper nanowire electrodes (CuWNEEs) are prepared via electrodeposition in track-etched polycarbonate membranes. Three different preparation methods are compared showing that the better results in terms of sensor durability and reproducibility are achieved by pre-sputtering a thin gold film on the templating membrane and attaching it to a supporting electrode by exploiting the adhesion property and ionic conductivity of a thin Nafion interlayer. SEM-EDS analyses together with double layer charging currents measurements indicate that these arrays are formed by copper nanowires with 400nm diameter, 10μm length distributed with a spatial density of 1×108 nanowires/cm2. The voltammetric reduction of nitrate at CuWNEEs is characterized by a well-resolved cathodic peak at approximately −0.680V vs Ag/AgCl, whose current scales linearly with the nitrate concentration in the 10–400μM range. The limit of detection (LOD) achieved by simple linear sweep voltammetry is in the 1.7–3.0μM range, depending on the CuWNEE preparation method, such LOD values being among the lowest reported up to now in the literature. The possibility to use CuWNEEs in chloride and nitrite containing water samples is demonstrated.
ISSN:0925-4005
1873-3077
DOI:10.1016/j.snb.2014.09.109