Voltammetric Sensor Based on Waste‐Derived Carbon Nanodots for Enhanced Detection of Nitrobenzene

Abstract

Abstract Carbon dots (CDs) samples were synthesized from orange peel waste (OPW) via a simple and eco‐friendly hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) and electrochemical (EC) bottom‐up synthesis integrated approach. The comprehensive chemical‐physical characterization of CDs samples, carried out by various techniques such as TEM, EDX, XRD, FT‐IR, underlined their morphological and microstructural features. The CDs exhibited attractive electrochemical properties, and thus an electrochemical sensor by modifying a screen printed carbon electrode (CDs/SPCE) for the detection of nitrobenzene (NB) in water was developed. Electroanalytical performances of CDs/SPCE sensor using differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) demonstrated its high sensitivity (9.36 μA μM−1 cm−2) towards NB in a wide linear dynamic range (0.1–2000 μM) and a low limit of detection (LOD=13 nM). The electrochemical sensor also shown high selectivity, long‐term stability, and repeatability. This paper might open the way to a new synergistic HTC‐EC approach for the synthesis of CDs from waste biomass material and their advanced application in highly efficient electrochemical sensors.

Keywords

• carbon nanodots
• electrochemical sensor
• electrochemical bottom-up synthesis
• waste valorization
• nitrobenzene