Electrocatalytic activity of three-dimensional monolayer of 3-mercaptopropionic acid assembled on gold nanoparticle arrays

3-Mercaptopropionic acid (MPA) was assembled on gold nanoparticle arrays to form three-dimensional monolayer. The electrochemical behavior of small biomolecules such as NADH, ascorbic acid (AA), uric acid (UA) and dopamine (DA) on the as-prepared three-dimensional monolayer was studied. The cyclic voltammetric results indicated that three-dimensional MPA monolayer promoted the electron transfer between NADH and electrode, which was similar to two-dimensional MPA monolayer assembled on planar gold electrode. However, to the electrooxidation of AA, although two-dimensional MPA monolayer exhibited a blocking effect, three-dimensional MPA monolayer showed an obvious promotion. The catalytic activity of three-dimensional MPA monolayer towards UA and DA was also observed, which was attributed to its three-dimensional structure that might effectively prevent the poison of the electrode surface by the oxidation products.