Abstract
A novel dendritic star-copolymer, generation 3 poly(propylene thiophenoimine) (G3PPT)-co-poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) star co-polymer on gold electrode (i.e., Au|G3PPT-co-P3HT) was used as a sensor system for the determination of phenanthrene (PHE). The G3PPT-co-P3HT star co-polymer was synthesized via in situ electrochemical co-polymerization of generation 3 poly (propylene thiophenoimine) and poly (3-hexylthiophene) on gold electrode. 1HNMR spectroscopy was used to determine the regioregularity of the polymer composites, whereas Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy were used to study their structural and morphological properties. Au|G3PPT-co-P3HT in the absence of PHE, exhibited reversible electrochemistry attributable to the oligo (thiophene) ‘pendants’ of the dendrimer. PHE produced an increase in the voltammetric signals (anodic currents) due to its oxidation on the dendritic material to produce catalytic current, thereby suggesting the suitability of the Au|G3PPT-co-P3HT electrode as a PHE sensor. The electrocatalysis of PHE was made possible by the rigid and planar oligo-P3HT species (formed upon the oxidation of the oligo (thiophene) pendants of the star-copolymer), which allowed the efficient capture (binding) and detection (electrocatalytic oxidation) of PHE molecules.
Highlights
Phenanthrene (PHE) is listed as one of the polyaromatic hydrocarbon (PAHs) priority chemicals on the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) list. [1]
The most commonly used among these techniques include high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with ultra violet-diode array detection (UV-DAD) and fluorescence detection (FLD) [11], gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) [12], and high-liquid chromatography coupled with a ultra-violet detector (HPLC-UV) [7]
cyclic voltammetry (CV), square wave voltammetry (SWV) and alternating current voltammetry (ACV) used for Au|generation 3 poly(propylene thiophenoimine) (G3PPT)-co-P3HT characterization in the above solution
Summary
Phenanthrene (PHE) is listed as one of the polyaromatic hydrocarbon (PAHs) priority chemicals on the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) list. [1]. The most commonly used among these techniques include high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with ultra violet-diode array detection (UV-DAD) and fluorescence detection (FLD) [11], gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) [12], and high-liquid chromatography coupled with a ultra-violet detector (HPLC-UV) [7] All these techniques are sensitive and capable of detecting PAHs, the limit of detection (LOD) at which the PAHs deleterious to health fall, are not within the detection limits of spectroscopic and chromatographic methods of analysis. No literature has reported on the levels of the PAHs in wastewater using an electrochemical dendritic sensor with conducting polymer for real time detection of PHE. The results presented here show that the star-copolymer can be designed and fabricated for the dynamic-based electrochemical PHE sensor, they highlight sensor specificity, selectivity and sensitivity in detecting PHE
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