Synthesis of Au@Pt nanoflowers supported on graphene oxide for enhanced electrochemical sensing of dopamine

Au@Pt nanoflowers supported on graphene oxide (Au@Pt/GO) nanocomposites were synthesized for enhanced electrochemical sensing of dopamine (DA). Au@Pt/GO nanocomposites were synthesized through a facile wet-chemical co-reduction method and the nanocomposites were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectrum (EDS), X-ray diffraction spectroscopy (XRD) and electrochemical techniques. SEM and TEM results showed that large numbers of Au@Pt nanoflowers with Au cores and Pt dendritic shells were distributed on the surface of GO sheets, which made Au@Pt/GO modified electrode exhibit an excellent performance toward DA detection with a wide linear range of 0.5 μM to 0.1775 mM, a high sensitivity of 329.0 μA mM−1 cm−2 and a low detection limit of 0.11 μM (S/N = 3). Moreover, the sensor also displayed good selectivity, accepted reproducibility and stability. Therefore, these results indicated that Au@Pt/GO nanocomposite was a promising sensing material for DA detection.