One-Step Thermal-Treatment Route to Fabricate Well-Dispersed ZnO Nanocrystals on Nitrogen-Doped Graphene for Enhanced Electrochemiluminescence and Ultrasensitive Detection of Pentachlorophenol

Abstract

Heteroatom doping enables graphene with novel properties and thus may broaden the potential of graphene-based materials. In this paper, novel ZnO-nanocrystal-decorated nitrogen-doped graphene (N-GR) composites were prepared through a one-step thermal-treatment route using glycine as the nitrogen source. ZnO nanocrystals with a size about 8 nm were well-dispersed and tightly anchored on the N-GR sheet. Compared with ZnO-nanocrystal-decorated undoped graphene, the ZnO/N-GR nanocomposites could not only enhance the electrochemiluminescence (ECL) intensity by 4.3-fold but also moved the ECL onset potential positively for ∼200 mV. All these results could be ascribed to the presence of nitrogen in graphene which decreased the barrier of ZnO nanocrystals reduction. Furthermore, the ECL sensor based on ZnO/N-GR nanocomposites was fabricated for the ultrasensitive detection of pentachlorophenol (PCP). This recyclable and eco-friendly sensor has excellent performances including wide linear range (0.5 pM to ∼61.1 nM), low detection limit (0.16 pM, S/N=3), good selectivity, and stability, which is a promising sensor for practical application in environment analysis.

Simple synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles on N-doped reduced graphene oxide for the electrocatalytic sensing ofl-cysteine

“…Considering this fact, the combination of ZnO with graphene may be an ideal strategy to exhibit superior electro-catalytic performance because graphene can facilitate the charge transfer in the electro-catalytic process. Jiang et al 21 prepared ZnO nanocrystals on N-doped graphene for electrochemiluminescence detection of pentachlorophenol by using glycine as N source, under 500 C argon atmosphere in an alumina crucible; but this method has some deciencies, such as high temperature (500 C) and harsh operating environments (argon protection). So, it is necessary to develop a technique for the synthesis of nanostructure ZnO decorated with N-doped graphene by using low temperature, low-cost and one step procedure.…”

Silver nanoparticles anchored on nitrogen-doped graphene as a novel electrochemical biosensing platform with enhanced sensitivity for aptamer-based pesticide assay

“…1Adisplayed a TEM image of Ag-NG165 nanocomposites at a lower magnification, which indicated that the Ag NPs were homogeneously attached on the NG surfaces. 22,25 In addition, the high-resolution scan of Ag 3d inFig. 1B and Fig.…”

Highly-sensitive electrocatalytic determination for toxic phenols based on coupled cMWCNT/cyclodextrin edge-functionalized graphene composite

“…The presence of the above-mentioned common interferences in the system did not affect the 4-AP, 4-CP, and 4-NP responses as shown inFig.S4. Moreover, the inorganic interferences ions, such as Ca 2+ , Zn 2+ , showed that the sensing platform had high selectivity toward 4-AP, 4-CP, and 4-NP[60].The good antifouling properties and the high electron-transfer kinetics of the GN-CD-cMWCNT/GCE are favorable for the detection of AP, CP and NP in practical application[53,54].The stability of GN-CD-cMWCNT/GCE electrode was investigated. After the modified electrode was stored for one month, its catalytic current response remains 97.3%, 93.6% and 86.7% of its initial current response to 4-AP, 4-CP and 4-NP, respectively, indicating the good stability of the GN-CD-cMWCNT/GCE sensor.…”