Design of molecularly imprinted TiO2/carbon aerogel electrode for the photoelectrochemical determination of atrazine

Abstract

Carbon aerogel (CA) was prepared by sol–gel process at ambient pressure drying. A novel photoelectrochemical sensing platform with excellent photochemical catalysis and molecular recognition capabilities was fabricated on the CA with a convenient surface modification of molecularly imprinted TiO2 (MIT) (denoted as MIT/CA) for the atrazine monitoring. Under the optimal experimental conditions, the designed MIT/CA electrode presented high sensitivity in atrazine determination, with a linear range from 0.12 to 93μM and a limit of detection of 0.008μM. Moreover, the electrode exhibited outstanding selectivity while used in coexisting systems containing various interferents with high concentration, 25 times that of atrazine. The practical application of the electrode was also realized in the selective determination of atrazine in water samples. The favourable performance of the as-prepared electrode can be mainly attributed to the selective recognition and high photoelectric activity of MIT and excellent conductivity of CA that promotes the charge transfer.