N. Ben Mansour

Synthesis and characterisation of electrical conducting nanoporous carbon structures based on pyrogallol-formaldehyde

Electrical conducting carbon (ECC) nanoporous structures were explored by changing the pyrolysis temperature of organic xerogel compounds prepared by sol-gel method from pyrogallol-formaldehyde (PF) mixture in water using picric acid as catalyst. The effect of these preparation parameters on the structural and electrical properties of the obtained ECCs was studied. The obtained results revealed that, the polymeric insulating xerogel phase was transformed progressively with pyrolysis temperature into carbon conducting phase. The temperature-dependent conductivity of the ECC structures show a semiconducting behaviour and the I(V) characteristics present a negative differential resistance.

Synthesis, characterization and electrochemical properties of metal-doped nanoporous carbon

A novel nickel/nanoporous carbon (Ni-NC) composite has been synthesized via sol- gel method after the incorporation of metal oxide nanoparticles in an organic matrix based on pyrogallol-formaldehyde and successive heating under inert atmosphere. The nanocomposites have been characterized by various techniques such as XRD, SEM-EDX and TEM. The Ni-NC composite was successfully used to fabricate a modified screen printed carbon electrode (SPCE) and applied in the determination of glucose. The electrochemical behavior of the Ni- NC nanocomposite has been investigated by cyclic voltammetry performed under different experimental conditions (potential, scan rate and analyte concentration). Based on the modified Ni-NC/SPCE electrode, an amperometric sensor for glucose determination with a sensitivity of 146.4 μA mM-1cm-2 and lower detection limit of 10 μM, has been developed.