Preparation of a Porous Composite Film for the Fabrication of a Hydrogen Peroxide Sensor

A series of dopant-type polyaniline-polyacrylic acid composite (PAn-PAA) films with porous structures were prepared and developed for an enzyme-free hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)) sensor. The composite films were highly electroactive in a neutral environment as compared to polyaniline (PAn). In addition, the carboxyl group of the PAA was found to react with H(2)O(2) to form peroxy acid groups, and the peroxy acid could further oxidize the imine structure of PAn to form N-oxides. The N-oxides reverted to their original form via electrochemical reduction and increased the reduction current. Based on this result, PAn-PAA was used to modify a gold electrode (PAn-PAA/Au) as a working electrode for the non-enzymatic detection of H(2)O(2). The characteristics of the proposed sensors could be tuned by the PAA/PAn molar ratio. Blending PAA with PAn enhanced the surface area, electrocatalytic activity, and conductivity of these sensors. Under optimal conditions, the linear concentration range of the H(2)O(2) sensor was 0.04 to 12 mM with a sensitivity of 417.5 μA/mM-cm(2). This enzyme-free H(2)O(2) sensor also exhibited a rapid response time, excellent stability, and high selectivity.