A one-pot synthetic approach to prepare palladium nanoparticles embedded hierarchically porous TiO2 hollow spheres for hydrogen peroxide sensing

A simple one-step method to fabricate hierarchically porous TiO2/Pd composite hollow spheres without any template was developed by using solvothermal treatment. Pd nanoparticles (2–5 nm) were well dispersed in the mesopores of the TiO2 hollow spheres via in-situ reduction. In our experiment, polyvinylpyrrolidone played an important role in the synthetic process as the reducing agent and the connective material between TiO2 and Pd nanoparticles. HF species generated from solvothermal reaction leaded to the formation of TiO2 hollow spheres and Ostwald ripening was another main factor that affected the size and structure of the hollow spheres. The as-prepared TiO2/Pd composite hollow spheres exhibited high electrocatalytic activity towards the reduction of H2O2. The sensitivity was about 226.72 μA mM−1 cm−2 with a detection limit of 3.81 μM at a signal-to-noise ratio of 3. These results made the hierarchically porous TiO2/Pd composite a promising platform for fabricating new nonenzymic biosensors.

Graphical AbstractA new one-step solvothermal method was developed to prepare Pd nanoparticles embedded hierarchically porous TiO2 hollow spheres. Due to its unique nanostructure, the prepared TiO2/Pd modified GC electrode exhibit a high sensitivity (226.72 μA mM−1 cm−2), a relatively low reduction potential (−0.2 V), a fast response time (<3 s) and a relatively low detection limit of 3.81 μM (S/N=3) towards H2O2.Figure optionsDownload as PowerPoint slide