Ultrasensitive and Simultaneous Determination of <i>p</i>-Nitrophenol and <i>p</i>-Nitrobenzoic Acid by a Modified Glassy C Electrode Modified with N-Rich Nanoporous C Derived from ZIF-8

Abstract

Herein, ZIF-8 was synthesized at room temperature and nanoporous carbon particle (NCP) components were produced through direct carbonization of ZIF-8 under a nitrogen atmosphere. The NCP had a large surface area (1135.79 m2∙g-1) and narrow pore-size distribution (3–5 nm). Modified glassy carbon electrodes with nafion-containing nanoporous NCP components was applied for the electrochemical detection of p-nitrophenol and p-nitrobenzoic acid by linear sweep voltammetry. The reductive peak currents of these analytes were observed at -0.325 and -0.187 V. These peaks linearly increased when p-Nitrophenol and p-Nitrobenzoic acid concentrations were in the 0.05–80 μM and 0.03–50 μM ranges. The corresponding detection limits were 17 and 10 nM, respectively, under optimal experimental conditions. It was speculated that the wide linear range and low detection limits were attributed to the large surface area and porosity as well as N presence in the NCP. The sensor was used for the simultaneous analysis of p-Nitrophenol and p-Nitrobenzoic acid in real samples with satisfactory results.