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Synthesis of a nanocomposite consisting of Cu2O and N-doped reduced graphene oxide with enhanced electrocatalytic activity for amperometric determination of diethylstilbestrol

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Abstract

The authors report on a low temperature method for large-scale fabrication of cuprous oxide nanocubes deposited on nitrogen-doped reduced graphene oxide (Cu2O/N-RGO). The material was deposited in a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) where it is found to display enhanced electrocatalytic activity for oxidation of diethylstilbestrol (DES). The morphology and composition of Cu2O/N-RGO were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and energy-dispersive spectroscopy. The results demonstrate that the RGO is doped with 3.5% of nitrogen (atomic ratio), and that nanostructured Cu2O particles with controlled cubical morphology and an average size of about 450 nm have been homogeneously deposited on the surface of N-RGO sheets. The oxidation peak of DES was recorded at 0.315 V (vs. saturated calomel electrode) using differential pulse voltammetry. Under the optimal conditions, the modified GCE displays a linear response in the 0.3 to 150 μM DES concentration range, and the limit of detection is 10 nM. The method was applied to the determination of DES in spiked milk, meat and urine samples and gave excellent selectivity, stability and reproducibility.

A nanocomposite consisting of Cu2O nanocubes/N-doped reduced graphene oxide (Cu2O/N-RGO) for the electrochemical determination of diethylstilbestrol (DES). The Cu2O/N-RGO modified electrode displays a linear response in the 0.3 to 150 μM DES concentration range. The method was applied to the determination of DES in spiked milk, meat and urine samples

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Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 21505035, 21171174, 21472038), Provincial Natural Science Foundation of Hunan (No. 2016JJ3028, 09JJ3024), Scientific Research Projects of Education Department of Hunan Province (No. 16A029) and Hengyang Normal University (No. 16D04), and the Aid Programs for Innovative Team and Key Discipline in Education Department of Hunan Province.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Chemistry and Material Science, Hengyang Normal University, Hengyang, 421008, People’s Republic of China

    Junhua Li, Zhifeng Xu & Mengqin Liu

  2. College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Central South University, Changsha, 410083, People’s Republic of China

    Junhua Li, Jianbo Jiang, Haibo Feng, Youcai Liu & Dong Qian

  3. Key Laboratory of Functional Organometallic Materials, Hengyang Normal University, Hengyang, 421008, People’s Republic of China

    Junhua Li

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  1. Junhua Li
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  2. Jianbo Jiang
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Correspondence to Youcai Liu or Dong Qian.

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Li, J., Jiang, J., Xu, Z. et al. Synthesis of a nanocomposite consisting of Cu2O and N-doped reduced graphene oxide with enhanced electrocatalytic activity for amperometric determination of diethylstilbestrol. Microchim Acta 184, 4331–4339 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00604-017-2452-4

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