A Nanocomposite of Graphitic Carbon Nitride and Carbon Dots as a Platform for Sensitive Voltammetric Determination of 2-chlorophenol in Water

Abstract

Herein, we report the preparation, characterisation and application of graphitic carbon nitride/carbon nanodots nanocomposite (g-C3N4/CDs) as a platform for the sensing of 2-chlorophenol in water. The g-C3N4/CDs was prepared via microwave irradiation and characterised by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The electrochemical properties of modified glassy carbon electrodes were studied using cyclic voltammetry (CV). In comparison to unmodified GCE, there was a marked enhancement of the oxidation peak of the analyte when GCE modified with the nanocomposite material was used. The composite modifier also performed better than the single-component modifiers. The oxidation peak currents varied linearly with the concentrations in the range 0.5 to 2.5 μM with a detection limit of 0.67 μM. The sensor was used to determine the analyte in real water samples with good recoveries.