Electrochemical detection of methanol by platinum/carbon nanotubes nanocomposites synthesised via hydrogen plasma reduction process

Platinum (Pt)/carbon nanotube (CNTs) nanocomposites were fabricated on the basis of Pt precursors reduced by hydrogen plasma generated by microwave process. The Pt nanoparticles were uniformly dispersed on multi-walled CNTs. Such nanocomposites exhibit remarkable catalytic performance towards the oxidation of methanol. The concentration of methanol was determined by a chronoamperometric method by using the Pt/CNTs modified glass carbon electrode (Pt/CNTs/GCE) at an oxidation potential of 0.7 V against the saturated calomel electrode. The Pt/CNTs/GCE showed a good performance for detecting methanol because of the unique properties of CNTs which increased the active surface area of the electrode and accelerated the electro transfer. The linear detection range of methanol was determined to be from 2.0 × 10^–4 to 10.0 M in two slopes with a detection limit 5 × 10^–5 M at a signal-to-noise ratio of 3. The performance of the Pt/CNTs/GCE in terms of stability, linear range and detection limit shows its potential application for methanol detection.