Hetero-Single-Atom F and P-Doped Layered Graphitic Carbon Nitride Nanosheets for Electrochemical Quantification of Vanillin in Food Samples

Abstract

In this article, we present the preparation of a novel heteroatom halogen (fluorine) and nonmetal phosphorus-doped layered graphitic carbon nitride, via the thermal decomposition technique, and examined its electrochemical monitoring ability for vanillin detection. The materials’ basic properties have been observed with various analytical analyses such as X-ray diffractometry, field-emission scanning electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. The proposed electrochemical sensor material was examined under various operating conditions to demonstrate a good current response for vanillin sensing. The sensor has a wide linear range (0.2–100 μM) and a lower limit of detection (LoD = 15 nM) with an enhanced sensitivity of 1.80 μA μM–1 cm–2. Ultimately, the potential utility of the suggested sensor was effectively tested on food samples, demonstrating exceptional recoveries of 99.46 and 96.76% for coffee and vanilla ice cream, respectively, with corresponding relative standard deviations of 1.83 and 1.21 for each.