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PreprintCC BYChemRxiv

Controlled Decoration of Electrochemically Exfoliated Graphene with Gold Nanoparticles for Electrocatalysis and Sensing

  • Riccardo Pinotti1
  • Alejandro Castro-Exposito1
  • Alessandro Silvestri2,3
  • Davide Campagnol1
  • Telma Domingues1
  • Giulia Cazzador2,3
  • Mohadeseh Karbasi2,3
  • Chiara Zanardi2,3,4,5
  • Jesús Mosquera1
  • Jonathan Quinson1
  • Alejandro Criado1
5 affiliations
  1. 1CICA-Centro Interdisciplinar de Química e Bioloxía, Universidade da Coruña, Rúa as Carballeiras, Coruña, Spain, 15071
  2. 2Department of Molecular Sciences and Nanosystems
  3. 3Ca' Foscari University of Venice
  4. 4Institute of Organic Synthesis and Photoreactivity
  5. 5National Research Council of Italy
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Abstract

The controlled decoration of graphene with metal nanoparticles benefits catalysis and sensing, yet remains challenging. Here, electrochemically exfoliated graphene (EEG) is decorated with surfactant-free gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) through a simple one-pot synthesis that uses only water, sodium hydroxide and glycerol, all inexpensive and green reagents. The AuNPs grow directly on the graphene surface. Base concentration governs particle size, whereas the Au/EEG ratio controls loading with only minor changes in size, allowing the two parameters to be tuned almost independently. The resulting composite reaches an Au loading of 20 wt%, to our knowledge among the highest reported for surfactant-free AuNPs on EEG. In the ethanol oxidation reaction, it outperformed physically mixed, sequentially deposited and ligandstabilized controls, combining the highest mass activity with the lowest Tafel slope and the largest electrochemically active surface area. As a proof-of-concept tryptophan sensor, it oxidized the analyte at 0.57 V, to our knowledge the lowest overpotential reported for this amino acid, with a linear response from 1 to 100 µM, a detection limit of 0.4 µM and good tolerance to common electroactive interferents. This strategy offers a scalable, green platform for printable catalysts and sensors.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@misc{pinotti2026controlled,
  title = {{Controlled Decoration of Electrochemically Exfoliated Graphene with Gold Nanoparticles for Electrocatalysis and Sensing}},
  author = {Riccardo Pinotti and Alejandro Castro-Exposito and Alessandro Silvestri and Davide Campagnol and Telma Domingues and Giulia Cazzador and Mohadeseh Karbasi and Chiara Zanardi and Jesús Mosquera and Jonathan Quinson and Alejandro Criado},
  howpublished = {ChemRxiv},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.26434/chemrxiv.15010981/v1},
  url = {https://chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.26434/chemrxiv.15010981/v1},
  note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY  - UNPB
TI  - Controlled Decoration of Electrochemically Exfoliated Graphene with Gold Nanoparticles for Electrocatalysis and Sensing
AU  - Riccardo Pinotti
AU  - Alejandro Castro-Exposito
AU  - Alessandro Silvestri
AU  - Davide Campagnol
AU  - Telma Domingues
AU  - Giulia Cazzador
AU  - Mohadeseh Karbasi
AU  - Chiara Zanardi
AU  - Jesús Mosquera
AU  - Jonathan Quinson
AU  - Alejandro Criado
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/23
PB  - ChemRxiv
DO  - 10.26434/chemrxiv.15010981/v1
UR  - https://chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.26434/chemrxiv.15010981/v1
AB  - The controlled decoration of graphene with metal nanoparticles benefits catalysis and sensing, yet remains challenging. Here, electrochemically exfoliated graphene (EEG) is decorated with surfactant-free gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) through a simple one-pot synthesis that uses only water, sodium hydroxide and glycerol, all inexpensive and green reagents. The AuNPs grow directly on the graphene surface. Base concentration governs particle size, whereas the Au/EEG ratio controls loading with only minor changes in size, allowing the two parameters to be tuned almost independently. The resulting composite reaches an Au loading of 20 wt%, to our knowledge among the highest reported for surfactant-free AuNPs on EEG. In the ethanol oxidation reaction, it outperformed physically mixed, sequentially deposited and ligandstabilized controls, combining the highest mass activity with the lowest Tafel slope and the largest electrochemically active surface area. As a proof-of-concept tryptophan sensor, it oxidized the analyte at 0.57 V, to our knowledge the lowest overpotential reported for this amino acid, with a linear response from 1 to 100 µM, a detection limit of 0.4 µM and good tolerance to common electroactive interferents. This strategy offers a scalable, green platform for printable catalysts and sensors.
ER  -