“Click” Chemistry on Gold Electrodes Modified with Reduced Graphene Oxide by Electrophoretic Deposition

Abstract

The coating of electrical interfaces with reduced graphene oxide (rGO) films and their subsequent chemical modification are essential steps in the fabrication of graphene-based sensing platforms. In this work, electrophoretic deposition (EPD) of graphene oxide at 2.5 V for 300 s followed by vapor treatment were employed to coat gold electrodes uniformly with rGO. These interfaces showed excellent electron transfer characteristics for redox mediators such as ferrocene methanol and potassium ferrocyanide. Functional groups were integrated onto the Au/rGO electrodes by the electro-reduction of an aryldiazonium salt, 4-((triisopropylsilyl)ethylenyl)benzenediazonium tetrafluoroborate (TIPS-Eth-ArN) in our case. Chemical deprotection of the triisopropylsilyl function resulted in propargyl-terminated Au/rGO electrodes to which azidomethylferrocene was chemically linked using the Cu(I) catalyzed “click” chemistry.