Au-Pt bimetallic nanoparticles supported on functionalized nitrogen-doped graphene for sensitive detection of nitrite

In this work, we report a novel Au-Pt bimetallic nanoparticles (Au-PtNPs) decorated on the surface of nitrogen-doped graphene (NG) functionalized with 1, 3, 6, 8-pyrene tetra sulfonic acid sodium salt (PyTS) by direct electrodeposition method. The results of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and electrochemical impendence spectrum (EIS) reveal that the Au-PtNPs were successfully anchored on the surface of NG sheets with a diameter of 20–40   nm. Further, the prepared Au-PtNPs/PyTS-NG nanocomposite exhibits superior catalytic activity for the oxidation of nitrite. Under optimal experimental conditions, an amperometric sensor with a linear range of 0.5–1621   μM and a detection limit of 0.19   μM (S/N=3) for the detection of nitrite was set up and applied to real samples.