Highly Sensitive Detection of Formaldehyde by Laser-Induced Graphene-Coated Silver Nanoparticles Electrochemical Sensing Electrodes

Abstract

Formaldehyde (HCHO) poses a grave threat to human health because of its toxicity, but its accurate, sensitive, and rapid detection in aqueous solutions remains a major challenge. This study proposes a novel electrochemical sensor composed of a graphene-based electrode that is prepared via laser induction technology. The precursor material, polyimide, is modified via the metal ion exchange method, and the detective electrode is coated with graphene and silver nanoparticles. And the special structure of graphene-coated Ag was demonstrated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) results show that graphene provides more sites for Ag NRs to be exposed and increases the surface area of contact between the solution and the detection object. In addition, differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) analysis exhibits high linearity over the HCHO concentration range from 0.05 to 5 μg/mL, with a detection limit of 0.011 μg/mL (S/N = 3). The Ag NPs in the electrochemical reaction will adsorb the intermediate ^•CO and ^•OH, catalyze their combination, and finally convert to CO₂ and H₂O, respectively. A microdetection device, specially designed for use with commercial micro-workstations, is employed to fully demonstrate the practical application of the electrode, which paves a way for developing formaldehyde electrochemical sensors.