Self-Assembly of Ferrocene-Phenylalanine@Graphene Oxide Hybrid Hydrogels for Dopamine Detection

The effect of graphene oxide (GO) is explored on the self-assembly behavior of ferrocene-L-phenylalanine (Fc-F) in solution. The assembly behavior of Fc-F in GO dispersions at different concentrations and pH values was systematically investigated. At pH 8, a stable hybrid material could be formed by facile and elaborate supramolecular assembly. Moreover, the concentration of GO could also be used to adjust the mechanical strength of the hybrid hydrogel. Increasing the concentration of GO in the assembly process, a hydrogel with better mechanical strength could be obtained. The storage modulus could be up to 6.3 kPa by increasing the GO concentration to 1 mg/mL. Finally, the dopamine concentration in the solution could be detected in a high accuracy by loading the hybrid hydrogel onto the electrode surface. The R² of linear fitting equation could reach 0.9915 in the range of 10-200 μmol/L, indicating that it has the potential as biosensing electrode material.