Enhanced electrochemiluminescence sensing platform using nitrogen-doped graphene as a novel two-dimensional mat of silver nanoparticles.

This communication clearly highlights the importance and necessity for a comparison investigation between nitrogen-doped graphene (N-G) and graphene as a two-dimensional mat of metal nanoparticles (NPs). We presented Ag NPs as a model of metal NPs for fabricating Ag/N-G and Ag/graphene nanocomposites, respectively. Compared with Ag/graphene nanocomposites, the Ag/N-G nanocomposites could facilitate the electrochemical redox process of S2O8(2-), and showed improved electrochemiluminescence (ECL) performances including increasing ~2.25-fold ECL intensity and decreasing ~330 mV onset potential of S2O8(2-), respectively. Further, the as-prepared pentachlorophenol ECL sensor based on Ag/N-G nanocomposites showed a wider linear range and lower detection limit than those of the Ag/graphene nanocomposites. This study could be potentially useful for understanding the role of N-G in electrochemistry, and opening a new aspect for exploring and developing potential application of N-G based materials in electrocatalysis and sensing fields.