Abstract

This work reported the rapid in situ detection of ultratrace 2,4-dinitrotoluene (DNT) solids on various substrates by a sandwiched paper-like electrochemical sensor. The sensor, prepared by a simple electroless deposition method without using special instruments, possessed a unique thin-film structure of an insulated polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membrane in between two gold (Au) conducting layers. The resulting gold-PVDF sandwich (GPVDFS) array exhibited excellent flexibility, porosity and electrochemical performance as a highly integrated dual-electrode sensor platform. The infiltration of nonvolatile ionic liquid (IL) electrolytes containing ferrocene (Fc) into the GPVDFS array produced a paper-like electrochemical sensor, which can directly detect ultratrace DNT solids on various substrate surfaces (e.g., plant leaves, gloves and metal knives) with detection limit as low as 0.33 ng/mm(2). The critical role of Fc in the detection of DNT at this dual-electrode sensor was explored. The compensating electrochemical oxidation of Fc at the counter/reference electrode was found to be essential to the reduction of DNT at the working electrode when IL electrolytes were employed. The present work thus demonstrated the promising applications of paper-based porous electrode arrays in developing IL-based electrochemical sensors for the in situ detection of analyte solids in complicated environments.

Full Text
Paper version not known

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call

Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.