Flexible electrochemical biosensors based on interfacially assembled metal nanocrystals and graphene paper

This study focuses on the fabrication of hybrid flexible electrodes to detect molecules related to human health. The hybrid electrodes were built upon flexible graphene paper and novel noble metal nanostructures. The size, morphology and surface chemistry of noble metal nanoparticles were well tailored using wet chemical method. Moreover, functionalized noble nanostructures were assembled at the interface between water and organic solvents and transferred on the flexible graphene paper via dip-coating. The fabricated free-standing flexible hybrid electrodes were further applied to detect biomolecules (such as dopamine and nitric oxide) released from living cells under external stimuli and heavy metals released from degraded quantum dots uptake inside living cells. Owing to the high loading density of 2D-assembled nanocrystals, remarkable electrocatalytic activity of nanocrystals and good conductivity of flexible graphene paper, the constructed sensors exhibited excellent performances toward detection a range of targets. Thus, this work illustrated a simple and novel approach to the further development of point-of-care electrochemical devices.DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (SCBE