Carbon nanochips and nanotubes decorated PtAuPd-based nanocomposites for glucose sensing: Role of support material and efficient Pt utilisation

An efficient approach for nanoparticle decoration of carbon nanochips and carbon nanotubes together with effective utilisation of Pt for direct glucose determination is demonstrated. The synthesised materials were investigated using morphological, compositional, structural and electrochemical characterisations. TEM data indicated the successful nanoparticles decoration with average particle sizes in the range of 2.5 ± 0.4 nm for all the synthesised nanomaterials. The overall aim was to reduce precious Pt content in addition to improve the Pt surface utility, via, using multicomponent catalytic system and effective particles dispersion on carbon-based supports. Amperometry was employed for non-enzymatic glucose determination and the best response among the bi/tri-metallic nanomaterials was achieved for Pt₂Au₁Pd₁/f-CNC (sensitivity = 11.24 μA mM^-1 cm^-2 at E_app = 0.43 V vs Ag/AgCl), over the range 0-10 mM glucose, in neutral pH conditions. The results confirm an excellent choice of novel carbon support (carbon nanochips, CNC) which doubles the electro-active surface area (S_EL = 56.2 m²/g) and active surface coverage (Θ = 36.5% for Pt₂Au₁Pd₁/f-CNC) compared to CNT supported catalysts (S_EL = 26.7 m²/g and Θ = 18.1% for Pt₂Au₁Pd₁/f-CNT) and demonstrated the role of support materials in effective nanoparticle utilisation and performance.