N-doped graphene quantum dots as an effective photocatalyst for the photochemical synthesis of silver deposited porous graphitic C3N4 nanocomposites for nonenzymatic electrochemical H2O2 sensing

Abstract

In this work, nitrogen-doped graphene quantum dots (N-GQDs) were proved to be an efficient photocatalyst for photochemical synthesis of Ag nanoparticle loaded porous graphitic C₃N₄ (p-g-C₃N₄) for the first time. The Ag nanoparticles were well-formed in high yield and closely anchored at the surface of p-g-C₃N₄ with uniform size distribution. Importantly, the as-prepared Ag/p-g-C₃N₄ nanocomposites exhibited excellent catalytic activity towards electrocatalytic reduction of hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂). The cyclic voltammetry and amperometry results show that the sensor of the as-prepared Ag/p-g-C₃N₄ composite exhibits excellent analytical response to H₂O₂ with fast response, wide linear range and low detection limit.