A taurine-functionalized 3D graphene-based foam for electrochemical determination of hydrogen peroxide.

We present a synthesis approach of taurine-functionalized graphene foam (a-NSGF) using hydrothermal reduction, freeze-drying and high temperature annealing. The higher temperature in annealing allowed the N/S atoms of taurine enter into the graphene lattice, which improves its electrocatalytic activity greatly. The a-NSGF consisting of taurine that modified into 3D layers of graphene and endow is of the rapid sensitive to hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). The electrode using a-NSGF modification reveals highly sensitive and stable towards the concentration change of H2O2 due to the stable 3D structure and good electrical conductivity of a-NSGF. A linear correlation between H2O2 concentration and the electrochemical signal is found to be in a range from 1.5 to 300 µM and the correlation coefficient is R2 = 0.999. The modified electrode has been applied in the determination of H2O2 in rain samples and the results have been compared with the China National Standard Method. The recoveries range from 94.6% to 106.7%. These results show that the proposed sensor is promising for the development of novel electrochemical sensing for H2O2 determination.