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Construction of polythiophene-derivative films as a novel electrochemical sensor for highly sensitive detection of nitrite

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Abstract

Herein, a novel, convenient, and highly selective electrochemical sensor for determination of nitrite based on a polythiophene-derivative film-modified glassy carbon electrode (GCE) was established. In this work, 2,5-di-thiophen-3-yl-thiazolo[5,4-d]thiazole (DTT), a novel thiophene derivative, was synthesized and used to form an original and excellent polymer film (PolyDTTF) on GCE through one-step electropolymerization for the first time. The modified electrodes were characterized by electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy (FT-IR), UV-visible spectra, Raman spectroscopy, and electrochemical technologies, in which the electrochemical sensor based on PolyDTTF was successfully constructed and demonstrated a significant electrocatalytic effect on nitrite. The influence of pH value, electrodeposition scanning times, scanning speed, and potential on the electrochemical behavior of nitrite were investigated in detail. Furthermore, the nitrite sensor exhibits excellent responses proportional to nitrite concentrations (R2 = 0.9972) over a concentration range of 5.5 × 10−9 ~ 3.5 × 10−5 M with a detection limit (LOD) of 2 nM, and has extremely good anti-interference ability for nitrite detection. This proposed sensor can be used to detect nitrite in actual samples, opening the possibility for applications in the food industry and environmental analysis.

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Acknowledgments

We are deeply grateful for the support of National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 21705084), the Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province of China (No. ZR2017BB074), National Training Program of Innovation and Entrepreneurship for Undergraduates (No. S202010431027), Qilu University of Technology of Training Program of Innovation and Entrepreneurship for Undergraduates (No. xj201910431125), the Innovation Team of **an City (2018GXRC004), and Special Funds for Taishan Scholars Project.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Biobased Material and Green Papermaking, School of Food Science and Engineering, Qilu University of Technology, Shandong Academy of Sciences, **an, 250353, Shandong, China

    Yan** Li, Chao Geng, **-Li-Aff1">Yan** Li

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  2. Chao Geng
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  3. **aoyun Xu
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  4. **aoyi Lv
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  5. Yishan Fang
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  8. Bo Cui
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Correspondence to Yishan Fang, Yunjun Yang or Bo Cui.

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Li, Y., Geng, C., Xu, X. et al. Construction of polythiophene-derivative films as a novel electrochemical sensor for highly sensitive detection of nitrite. Anal Bioanal Chem 413, 6639–6647 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-021-03630-y

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