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The influence of graphene on the electrical communication through organic layers fabricated on graphite and gold electrodes is investigated. These layers were prepared by in situ reductive adsorption of 4-aminobenzoic acid in the presence of NaNO2 and HCl to have surface bound carboxylic acid functionalities, followed by covalent attachment of 1-aminopyrene via an amide coupling reaction to have surface bound pyrene groups for graphene immobilization via noncovalent ππ stacking interaction. The coverage of the layers created via reductive adsorption on graphite electrodes was found to be much higher than that on gold electrodes. It was revealed that graphene significantly enhances the electrical communication through the layers on graphite electrodes but on gold electrodes the enhancement effect through the layers was only minor. However, when gold electrodes were modified with a self-assembled monolayer (SAM) of propanethiol the subsequent immobilization of graphene resulted in a significant enhancement of the electrical communication. It is also found that immobilization of graphene could affect the electron transfer between the redox probe, pyrene and the underlying electrodes. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to characterize the graphene sheets. Cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were also used to characterize the stepwise modified electrodes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fabrication of glucose oxidase (GOx) enzyme electrodes with controlled alternate enzyme and graphene layers is described. GOx was first modified with pyrene functionalities in order to be self-assembled onto a graphene basal plane via non-covalent π–π stacking interaction. Fluorescence spectroscopy analysis revealed that about 5.4 pyrene functional groups were attached to each GOx and the pyrene functionalized GOx retained more than 76% of the biocatalytical activity compared with the native enzyme. Via alternate layer-by-layer self-assembly of graphene and pyrene functionalized GOx, mono- and multi-layered enzyme electrodes with controlled biocatalytical activity can be easily fabricated. The biocatalytical activity of the as-prepared enzyme electrodes increased with increasing graphene and GOx layers and increased insignificantly when the layers reached four. Such multi-layered enzyme electrodes with controlled nanostructure exhibited reliable application in human serum samples analysis with high detection sensitivity, good stability and repeatability. A broad linear detection limit of 0.2 to 40 mM was obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A gold electrode modified with graphene via non-covalent interaction for a chemical sensor is presented. The gold electrode was first modified with carboxylic acid functionalities, followed by the immobilization of pyrene groups via the esterification reaction. The freshly prepared graphene nanosheets were then attached on the electrode surface via π–π stacking interaction for the analysis of Cu2+ and Pb2+. The graphene modified gold electrode exhibited enhanced analytical sensitivity toward Cu2+ and Pb2+. The linear detection range for Cu2+ analysis is 1.5–20nM and Pb2+ is 0.4–20nM. Good reusability and repeatability were also observed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Highlights: [•] Using RAFT polymerization method to obtain graphene/poly (acrylic acid) hydrogel. [•] The composite hydrogel is pH sensitive and more elastic than pure PAA hydrogel. [•] The composite hydrogel is an efficient carrier for drug loading and releasing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A uniform graphene nanodots inlaid porous gold electrode was prepared via ion beam sputtering deposition (IBSD) and mild corrosion chemistry. HRTEM, SEM, AFM and XPS analyses revealed the successful fabrication of graphene nanodots inlaid porous gold electrode. The as-prepared porous electrode was used as π -orbital-rich drug loading platform to fabricate an electrochemically controlled drug release system with high performance. π -orbital-rich drugs with amino mioety, like doxorubicin (DOX) and tetracycline (TC), were loaded into the graphene nanodots inlaid porous gold electrode via non-covalent π–π stacking interaction. The amino groups in DOX and TC can be easily protonated at acidic medium to become positively-charged NH 3 + , which allow these drug molecules to be desorbed from the porous electrode surface via electrostatic repulsion when positive potential is applied at the electrode. The drug loading and release experiment indicated that this graphene nanodots inlaid porous gold electrode can be used to conveniently and efficiently control the drug release electrochemically. Not only did our work provide a benign method to electrochemically controlled drug release via electrostatic repulsion process, it also enlighten the promising practical applications of micro electrode as a drug carrier for precisely and efficiently controlled drug release via embedding in the body. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, electron transfer behavior of the graphene nanosheets attachment on glassy carbon electrode (GCE) via direct electrochemical reduction of graphene oxide (GO) is investigated for the first time. The graphene modified electrode was achieved by simply dipping the GCE in GO suspension, followed by cyclic voltammetric scanning in the potential window from 0 V to −1.5 V. Tris(2,2′-bipyridyl)ruthenium(II) [Ru(bpy) 3 2+ ] was immobilized on the graphene modified electrode and used as the redox probe to evaluate the electron transfer behavior. The electron transfer rate constant (Ks) was calculated to be 61.9±5.8 s −1 , which is much faster than that of tiled graphene modified GCE (7.1±0.6 s −1 ). The enhanced electron transfer property observed with the GCE modified by reductively deposited graphene is probably due to its standing configuration, which is beneficial to the electron transfer comparing with the tiled one. Because the abundant oxygen-containing groups are mainly located at the edges of GO, which should be much easier for the reduction to start from, the reduced GO should tend to stand on the electrode surface as evidenced by scanning electron microscopy analysis. In addition, due to the favored electron transfer and standing configuration, the Ru(bpy) 3 2+ electrochemiluminescence sensor fabricated with standing graphene modified GCE provided much higher and more stable efficiency than that fabricated with tiled graphene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A graphene nanodots-encaged porous gold electrode via ion beam sputtering deposition (IBSD) for electrochemical sensing is presented. The electrodes were fabricated using Au target, and a composite target of Al and graphene, which were simultaneously sputtered onto glass substrates by Ar ion beam, followed with hydrochloric acid corrosion. The as-prepared graphene nanodots-encaged porous gold electrodes were then used for the analysis of heavy metal ions, e.g. Cu 2+ and Pb 2+ by Osteryoung square wave voltammetry (OSWV). These porous electrodes exhibited enhanced detection range for the heavy metal ions due to the entrapped graphene nanodots in 3-D porous structure. In addition, it was also found that when the thickness of porous electrode reached 40 nm the detection sensitivity came into saturation. The linear detection range is 0.009–4 μM for Cu 2+ and 0.006–2.5 μM for Pb 2+ . Good reusability and repeatability were also observed. The formation mechanism and 3-D structure of the porous electrode were also investigated using scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS). This graphene entrapped 3-D porous structure may envision promising applications in sensing devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]