Facile and green fabrication of small, mono-disperse and size-controlled noble metal nanoparticles embedded in water-stable polyvinyl alcohol nanofibers: High sensitive, flexible and reliable materials for biosensors

A facile and green approach has been demonstrated for the fabrication of highly uniform and monodisperse noble metal (Ag, Au, Pt) nanoparticles (NMNPs) in polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) nanofibers by combining an in situ reduction and electrospinning technique, which are used as efficient biosensor for the detection of H2O2. The small and stable NMNPs can be easily obtained in aqueous solution using EGCG as both reductant and stabilizer. Through electrospinning technique, uniform and smooth nanofibers can be obtained and the NMNPs with narrow size distributions are well dispersed in PVA nanofibers. The investigation indicates that the viscosity of the PVA solution play an important role in controlling the size of NMNPs. The fabricated AgNPs/PVA nanofibers functionalized electrodes exhibits remarkable increased electrochemical catalysis toward H2O2 and excellent stability and reusability. The biosensor allows the highly sensitive detection of H2O2 with a broad linear range span of the concentration of H2O2 from 10 μM to 560 μM. The rapid electrode response to the change of the H2O2 concentration is attributed to the fast diffusion of the H2O2 onto the surface of small AgNPs through the porous nanofibers structures.