3D-Flower-Like Copper Sulfide Nanoflake-Decorated Carbon Nanofragments-Modified Glassy Carbon Electrodes for Simultaneous Electrocatalytic Sensing of Co-existing Hydroquinone and Catechol
Lina Abdullah Alshahrani,
Liqiong Miao,
Yanyu Zhang,
Shengming Cheng,
Palanivel Sathishkumar,
Balasubramaniam Saravanakumar,
Junmin Nan,
Feng Long Gu
Affiliations
Lina Abdullah Alshahrani
Key Laboratory of Theoretical Chemistry of Environment, Ministry of Education; School of Chemistry and Environment, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, China
Liqiong Miao
Key Laboratory of Theoretical Chemistry of Environment, Ministry of Education; School of Chemistry and Environment, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, China
Yanyu Zhang
Key Laboratory of Theoretical Chemistry of Environment, Ministry of Education; School of Chemistry and Environment, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, China
Shengming Cheng
Key Laboratory of Theoretical Chemistry of Environment, Ministry of Education; School of Chemistry and Environment, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, China
Palanivel Sathishkumar
Key Laboratory of Theoretical Chemistry of Environment, Ministry of Education; School of Chemistry and Environment, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, China
Balasubramaniam Saravanakumar
Key Laboratory of Theoretical Chemistry of Environment, Ministry of Education; School of Chemistry and Environment, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, China
Junmin Nan
Key Laboratory of Theoretical Chemistry of Environment, Ministry of Education; School of Chemistry and Environment, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, China
Feng Long Gu
Key Laboratory of Theoretical Chemistry of Environment, Ministry of Education; School of Chemistry and Environment, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, China
A copper sulfide nanoflakes-decorated carbon nanofragments-modified glassy carbon electrode (CuS-CNF/GCE) was fabricated for the electrocatalytic differentiation and determination of hydroquinone (HQ) and catechol (CC). The physicochemical properties of the CuS-CNF were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy. The electrocatalytic determination of HQ and CC over the CuS-CNF/GCE was evaluated by cyclic voltammetry and differential pulse voltammetry. An excellent detection limit and sensitivity of the CuS-CNF/GCE are obtained (0.293 µM and 0.259 µM) with a sensitivity of 184 nA µM−1 cm−2 and 208 nA µM−1 cm−2 (S/N=3) for HQ and CC, respectively. In addition, the CuS-CNF/GCE shows a selective identification of HQ and CC over potential interfering metal ions (Zn2+, Na+, K+, NO3−, SO42−, Cl−) and organic compounds (ascorbic acid, glucose), and a satisfactory recovery is also obtained in the spiked water samples. These results suggest that the CuS-CNF/GCE can be used as an efficient electrochemical sensor for the simultaneous determination of co-existing environmental pollutants such as HQ and CC in water environments with high selectivity and acceptable reproducibility.
