Ultrasonic irradiation effect in the impregnation–reduction process of preparing Pt/Nafion® NH4+ sensor

A systematic study on the ultrasonic irradiation effect in the impregnation–reduction (I–R) process for preparing a Pt/Nafion® electrode was carried out in a flow-injection system of ammonium ion detection. Both the impregnation and the reduction stages were affected by ultrasonic irradiation which increased the sensing currents of electrodes. Moreover, the effect of ultrasonic irradiation was found more significant in the reduction process than in the impregnation process. The relationship between sensing current and power of ultrasonic irradiation was also obtained. The specific active surface area of the Pt/Nafion® electrodes were evaluated by the cyclic voltametric technique. Meanwhile, the surfaces of the electrodes were characterized by XRD and SEM.