In-Situ Decoration of Platinum Nanoparticles on Nb2CT x MXene: An Electrochemical Sensor for L-Cysteine and an Efficient Catalyst for Oxygen Evolution Reaction

Abstract

In this work, we report on a dual functional Nb2CT x @Pt nanocomposite, which shows good promise for the detection of physiologically relevant L-Cysteine (L-Cys) and for oxygen evolution reaction (OER). The nanocomposite material was synthesized using a facile self-reduction strategy, after which Pt nanoparticles (PtNPs) were found to be deposited on Nb2CT x layered structure. The optimum loading of PtNPs on the nanocomposite was also optimized and it was found that Nb2CT x @Pt0.48 produced the best results for both sensing and OER applications. This Nb2CT x @Pt0.48 nanocomposite modified glassy carbon electrode (GCE) was able to detect L-Cys in the linear range of 100 pM–10 μM with a LOD of 41 pM along with high selectivity. Also, Nb2CT x @Pt0.48 was able to produce the best OER performance by attaining an OER current of 10 mA cm−2 at a potential of 1.5 V (vs Ag/AgCl) in addition to showcasing good durability even after the performance of an accelerated durability test of 500 cycles in the absence of binder molecules. This dual functional Nb2CT x @Pt0.48 nanocomposite has the capability to benefit both the healthcare and energy generation scenarios thus showing its versatility.