Abstract This work presents a novel approach in synthesizing copper (Cu)/carbon composite materials by electrodeposition of the biopolymer chitosan, a renewable carbon precursor, on a copper anode, followed by pyrolysis of the electrodeposited chitosan gel. The amount of copper in the Cu/carbon composite material can be controlled by modifying the pH of the chitosan solution from which the electrodeposition is performed. This further influences the physical properties of the composite material. Here we show a 14 fold increase in electrical conductivity of the Cu/carbon composite, when compared to the material without copper inclusions. Metal/carbon composite materials have a wide range of applications already reported in the literature. As a proof of concept, we demonstrate the electrochemical sensing capability of this Cu/carbon material for non-enzymatic detection of hydrogen peroxide, achieving a sensitivity of 58.9 μA/mM cm2, which is comparable to state of the art non-enzymatic hydrogen peroxide sensors. The anodic electrodeposition of chitosan proves to be a simple and straightforward medium for synthesis of Cu/carbon composites. We speculate that this method can be extended to obtain other metal/carbon composites as a low-cost alternative for the fabrication of functional composite electrodes.

中文翻译：

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壳聚糖的电沉积能够合成用于 H2O2 传感的铜/碳复合材料

摘要 这项工作提出了一种通过在铜阳极上电沉积生物聚合物壳聚糖（一种可再生碳前体），然后热解电沉积的壳聚糖凝胶来合成铜 (Cu)/碳复合材料的新方法。可以通过改变进行电沉积的壳聚糖溶液的 pH 值来控制铜/碳复合材料中铜的含量。这进一步影响复合材料的物理性能。在这里，我们展示了与不含铜夹杂物的材料相比，Cu/碳复合材料的电导率增加了 14 倍。金属/碳复合材料已在文献中报道了广泛的应用。作为概念证明，我们展示了这种铜/碳材料的电化学传感能力，用于过氧化氢的非酶促检测，灵敏度达到 58.9 μA/mM cm2，与最先进的非酶促过氧化氢传感器相当。壳聚糖的阳极电沉积被证明是合成铜/碳复合材料的一种简单直接的介质。我们推测这种方法可以扩展到获得其他金属/碳复合材料，作为制造功能复合电极的低成本替代方案。