Determination of Formaldehyde with a Platinum–Palladium–Graphene Nanocomposite Glassy Carbon Electrode

The oxidation of formaldehyde on a platinum (Pt)–palladium (Pd)–graphene nanocomposite glassy carbon electrode prepared by chemical reduction was characterized in 0.5 M sulfuric acid. The surface and morphology of the catalyst were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction. Bimetallic Pt–Pd nanoparticles were uniformly dispersed on the graphene sheets. Energy-dispersed X-ray spectroscopy was used to characterize the metal composition of the nanocomposite. The electrocatalytical characteristics of the modified electrode were investigated by cyclic voltammetry. The results show that the electrode displayed high activity for the oxidation of formaldehyde in sulfuric acid with a linear relationship from 4.50 µM to 0.180 mM and a detection limit of 2.85 µM. The low detection limit, wide linear dynamic range, and high sensitivity of the modified electrode suggests further applications.