Highly electrocatalytic reduction of nitrite ions on a copper nanoparticles thin film

High dense Cu nanoparticles thin films, with the average size of 25.1 nm, were prepared by electrodeposition Cu nanoparticles on Au electrodes pre-coated 1-decanethiol layers (Cu NPs/thiol/Au). It shows high electrocatalytic capability for the reduction of nitrite ion (NO2−) and exhibits a good reproducibility, which can be utilized as efficient electrochemical sensors. The detection limit of NO2− approaches ∼10−7 mM and the response time is fast with the average time of 2 s.