Development of a molecularly imprinted polymer on silanized graphene oxide for the detection of 17‐estradiol in wastewater

Abstract

This research article demonstrates the synthesis, characterization, and electrochemical evaluation of a molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) on the surface of silanized graphene oxide (silanized GO), which is nanostructured and used to quantify 17‐estradiol (E2) in wastewater. As characterization methods, X‐ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, dynamic scattering light (DSL), scanning electron microscope (SEM), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) were utilized to examine the synthesized GO, silanized GO, MIP‐GO composite, and non‐imprinted polymer (NIP)–GO (NIP‐GO) composite. FTIR results confirmed the successful synthesis of GO composites. Raman study confirmed the synthesis of monolayer silanized GO, MIP‐GO composite, and NIP‐GO composite. Surface morphology revealed that after polymerization, the surface of silanized GO sheet‐like morphology is covered with nanoparticles. Adsorption kinetics studies revealed that adsorption follows the pseudo‐second‐order kinetics. Further, we studied the performance of a MIP‐GO‐based sensor by optimizing the effects of pH, scan rate, and incubation period. The linear calibration was achieved between the oxidation peak current and E2 concentration from 0.1 to 0.81 ppm, with a detection limit of 0.037 ppm. The selectivity of the MIP‐GO composite was also checked by using other estrogens, and it was found that E2 is 3.3, 0.5, and 1.4 times more selective than equilin, estriol, and estrone, respectively. The composite was successfully applied to the wastewater samples for the detection of E2, and a good percentage of recoveries were achieved. It suggests that the reported composite can be applied to real samples.Practitioner Points An innovative electrochemical sensor was developed for selective detection of 17‐estradiol through molecularly imprinted polymer fabricated on the surface of silanized GO (MIP‐GO composite). The developed method was comprehensively validated and found to be linear in the range of 0.1 to 0.8 ppm of 17‐estradiol, with 0.037 ppm of limit of detection and 0.1 ppm of limit of quantification, respectively. The developed MIP‐GO‐composite‐based electrochemical sensor was found 3.3, 0.5, and 1.4 times more selective for 17‐estradiol than equiline, estriol, and estrone, respectively. The applicability of a developed sensor was also checked on wastewater samples, and a good percent recovery was obtained.