A simple dopamine sensor using graphdiyne nanotubes and shortened carbon nanotubes for enhanced preconcentration and electron transfer

High-quality tremella-like graphdiyne (GDY) nanotubes composed of intertwined ultrathin nanosheets were acidified. Shortened and acidified multi-walled carbon nanotubes (S-MWCNTs) were simply blended with GDY in a certain proportion to modify glassy carbon electrode (GCE). Electrochemical behavior of DA was studied on different modified electrodes. GDY showed high preconcentration to DA. S-MWCNTs facilitated the electron transport and promoted the oxidation of DA. Differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) was applied to determine low concentrations of DA. It exhibited a linear response in the concentration range of 0.02 to 20.0 μM with an estimated detection limit of 8.6 nM (S/N = 3). This sensor showed excellent performances for detection of DA in biological fluids.