Attachment of Nanoparticles to Pyrolytic Graphite Electrode and Its Application for the Direct Electrochemistry and Electrocatalytic Behavior of Catalase

Abstract

A highly hydrophilic, nontoxic, and conductive effect of colloidal gold nanoparticles (GNP) and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) on pyrolytic graphite electrode has been demonstrated. The direct electron transfer of catalase (CAT) was achieved based on the immobilization of MWCNT/CAT-GNP on a pyrolytic graphite electrode by a Nafion film. The immobilized catalase displayed a pair of well-defined and nearly reversible redox peaks in 0.1 M phosphate buffer solution (PBS) (pH 6.98). The dependence of E°′on solution pH indicated that the direct electron transfer reaction of catalase was a single-electron-transfer coupled with single-proton-transfer reaction process. The immobilized catalase maintained its biological activity, showing a surface controlled electrode process with an apparent heterogeneous electron transfer rate constant (k _s) of 1.387±0.1 s⁻¹ and charge-transfer coefficient (α) of 0.49, and displayed electrocatalytic activity in the electrocatalytic reduction of hydrogen peroxide. Therefore, the resulting modified electrode can be used as a biosensor for detecting hydrogen peroxide.

Keywords:

• Catalase
• electrocatalysis
• GNP
• MWCNT
• hydrogen peroxide

This project is supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Shanxi Province (No.2006011016).