Synergistic Effects of Antimony Oxide Embedded Graphitic Carbon Nitride Nanocomposite as a sensing Interface for Hazardous Bisphenol A: An Electrochemical and Computational Approach
摘要
Herein, an electrochemical sensor based on antimony oxide/graphitic carbon nitride nanocomposite (Sb2O3/GCN) was applied for bisphenol A (BPA) electroanalysis in a water sample. This composite and its components were characterized with X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectroscopy, UV–visible spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). Electrochemical characterization of a pencil graphite electrode (PGE) modified with Sb2O3/GCN, Sb2O3 nanoparticles (Sb2O3 NPs) and graphitic carbon nitride (GCN) show that the Sb2O3/GCN modified pencil graphite electrode (PGE/Sb2O3/GCN) has the highest electroactive surface area and electronic conductivity. Theoretical calculation of the adsorption energies of BPA/GCN complex and its variants revealed that hydrogen bonding and π- π interaction between GCN and BPA contributed to the electrocatalytic oxidation of BPA at the proposed sensor. The limit of detection of BPA at PGE/Sb2O3/GCN was estimated to be 5.61 μM. The calibration curve depicting the changes in peak current with BPA concentration showed two linear ranges at 8–60 μM and 60–140 μM. Also, the proposed sensor offered a percentage recovery of 102.43% for BPA in spiked bottled water. These figures of merit as well as the outstanding selectivity, remarkable repeatability and good reproducibility of the proposed sensor are indications that PGE/Sb2O3/GCN is a useful analytical tool for BPA electroanalysis in water samples.
Graphical Abstract