A facile synthesis route to BiPr composite nanosheets and sensitive electrochemical detection of l-cysteine

The BiPr composite nanosheets have been synthesized by a facile hydrothermal method using cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB). The BiPr composite products were investigated by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and electrochemical method. The obtained nanosheets possess poly-crystalline structure and thickness of less than 100 nm. The application of the BiPr composite nanosheets as the glassy carbon electrode (GCE) modified materials for l-cysteine determination was systematically investigated. The BiPr composite nanosheets modified GCE possesses better interface electron transfer properties than bare GCE exhibiting superior electro-catalytic properties for the electrochemical oxidation of l-cysteine. A pair of quasi-reversible redox peaks are observed at –0.75 V and + 0.06 V, respectively. The current response of l-cysteine is linear in the concentration range of 0.001–2 mM with a detection limit of 0.21 μM. The BiPr composite nanosheets modified GCE has considerable stability and reproducibility.