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Synthesis of morphology-controlled N-doped porous carbon for simultaneous electrochemical sensing of dihydroxybenzene isomers

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Abstract

Different morphology of N-doped carbon materials, including three-dimensional interconnected N-doped hierarchically porous carbon networks (3D-NC), two-dimensional ultrathin porous carbon nanosheets (2D-NC), and bulk N-doped carbon with micron size (bulk-NC), was easily prepared by using NaCl crystal templates–assisted strategy. Compared with bare glassy carbon, bulk-NC, and 2D-NC, the as-synthesized 3D-NC exhibits excellent electrochemical activity toward the oxidation and sensing of three kinds of common environmental pollutants dihydroxybenzene isomers (hydroquinone (HQ), catechol (CC), and resorcinol (RS)). The impressive electrochemical activity of 3D-NC can be interpreted by its large specific surface area, continuous network-like morphology, superior electro-catalytic ability, and strong accumulation efficiency. Differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) test showed the 3D-NC-modified electrode exhibited three well-separated oxidation peaks at 0.05 V, 0.14 V, and 0.45 V vs. saturated calomel electrode (SCE) for HQ, CC, and RS, and their detection limits were evaluated to be as low as 0.0044, 0.012, and 0.016 mg L−1, respectively. Finally, a novel electrochemical analytical platform is successfully fabricated for the simultaneous monitoring of hydroquinone, catechol, and resorcinol with high sensitivity. When used for real wastewater samples analysis, recovery ratio ranging from 94 to 108% with lower than 5% of relative standard deviation (RSD) values was achieved. This work proves a facile strategy to prepare morphology-controlled N-doped carbon-based material and demonstrates its high application potential for environmental monitoring and electrochemical analysis.

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Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 21804031, 22174033).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, Hubei Province Engineering Research Center for Intelligent Micro-Nano Medical Equipment and Key Technologies, Wuhan Textile University, Wuhan, 430200, People’s Republic of China

    Xiaoyu Li, Meijuan Liu, Gaocheng Zhang & Shengxiang Wang

  2. Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430022, China

    Qi Qin

  3. Collaborative Innovation Center for Advanced Organic Chemical Materials Co-Constructed By the Province and Ministry, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for the Synthesis and Application of Organic Functional Molecules, School of Materials Science & Engineering, Hubei University, Wuhan, 430062, China

    Can Wu

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  1. Xiaoyu Li
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Li, X., Liu, M., Zhang, G. et al. Synthesis of morphology-controlled N-doped porous carbon for simultaneous electrochemical sensing of dihydroxybenzene isomers. Microchim Acta 189, 381 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00604-022-05475-3

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