Application of tubular tetrapod magnesium oxide in a biosensor for hydrogen peroxide

• DOI: 10.1007/s00604-012-0814-5
• Publication Date: 2012-05-16T17:17:34Z
• Authors: Jianwei Zhao; Lirong Qin; Yonghao Hao; Qing Guo; Fan Mu; Zhongke Yan
• Keywords: 02 engineering and technology; 0210 nano-technology

Tubular tetrapod magnesium oxide (tt-MgO) can be synthesized by thermal evaporation of Mg metal powder with a pre-grown tetrapod ZnO template. The morphology and structure of the tt-MgO were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. A composite prepared from tt-MgO, nafion and horseradish peroxidase was employed to modify a gold electrode to result in an electrochemical biosensor for hydrogen peroxide that displays excellent sensitivity and rapid response in the presence of hydroquinone as a mediator. Its sensitivity is 335.4 μA mM-1 cm-2, its response is linear in the range from 1.0 to 450 μM, and the detection limit is 0.3 μM. These results demonstrate that tt-MgO provides a promising material for the designs of biosensors.