Additive-Free Gold Nanoparticles Synthesized by Gamma-Ray Irradiation: Applications in Electrocatalysis and Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering

Abstract

© 2014 The Electrochemical Society. Additive-free gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) were successfully synthesized by gamma ray irradiation in aqueous solution using HAuCl 4 as precursor. The size was optimized by regulating the concentration of HAuCl 4 and the dose of irradiation. The electrocatalytic performance of AuNPs for the oxidation of glucose was demonstrated. The obtained AuNPs displayed superior electrocatalysis for the oxidation of glucose with a linear response range from 50 μM to 16 mM, and the limit of detection was estimated to be 14.2 μM. The surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) activity of the synthesized AuNPs was also investigated, which showed excellent SERS enhancement in the low concentration detection (1 × 10 -7 M) of Rhodamine 6G solution with an enhancement factor of 1.4 × 106.