Quenched electrochemiluminescence sensor of ZnO@g-C3N4 modified glassy carbon electrode for fipronil determination

Abstract

In this study, a novel quenched electrochemiluminscence (ECL) sensor was constructed based on the integration of ZnO and g-C3N4 for determination of fipronil. The ZnO@g-C3N4 composites were shaped on the glassy carbon electrode by one-step electrodeposition, which showed strong ECL signals compared to the pure g-C3N4. With the presence of low concentration of fipronil, a remarkable decrease of ECL signal was observed due to the quenching effect of fipronil on ECL emission. The results showed the quenched ECL intensity responded linearly to the logarithm of fipronil concentration in the range of 5–1000 nmol L−1 with a low detection limit of 1.5 nmol L−1 (S/N = 3). The developed ECL sensor exhibited high sensitivity and specificity for the determination of fipronil, which provides a potential application to fipronil analysis in real egg samples.