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Copper(I) oxide nanospheres decorated with graphene quantum dots display improved electrocatalytic activity for enhanced luminol electrochemiluminescence

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Abstract

We report on an in-situ method for fabricating Cu2O nanospheres decorated with graphene quantum dots (GQDs-Cu2O nanospheres). The material was characterized by transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. Further, a novel strategy to amplify the electrochemiluminescence (ECL) signal of luminol system based on the GQDs-Cu2O nanospheres has been investigated. Compared to the use of plain Cu2O nanospheres, the incorporation of GQDs improves the catalytic performance of Cu2O nanospheres towards luminol oxidation effectively. This is attributed to the improved electron transfer capability of GQDs. Compared to the Cu2O nanosphere modified electrode, the ECL intensity of luminol was enhanced 3.5-fold at the GQDs-Cu2O nanosphere modified electrode, with the ECL onset potential negatively shifted by 130 mV. Based on these findings, a method was developed for selective determination of the pesticide pentachlorophenol (PCP) which exerts an inhibition effect on the ECL. The assay displays a linear response in the 0.02 to 300 ng mL−1 concentration range, with a detection limit of 6.6 pg mL−1 (at an S/N ratio of 3).

We describe an in-situ method for fabricating Cu2O nanospheres decrorated with graphene quantum dots (GQDs-Cu2O nanospheres). These show better catalytic performance than Cu2O nanospheres towards luminol oxidation effectively due to the excellent electron transfer ability of GQDs.

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Acknowledgments

The financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 21175061 and 21375050), the National Key Technology Research and Development Program of the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People’s Republic of China (No. 2014BAD08B03), Innovation Project of Science and Technology for College Graduates of Jiangsu Province (No. KYLX15_1085), the Jiangsu Province Synergistic Innovation Center Program of Modern Agricultural Equipment and Technology (No. NZXT01201402), a Project Funded by the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions (No. PAPD-2014-37), Qing Lan Project and Key Laboratory of Modern Agriculture Equipment and Technology (No. NZ201109).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Modern Agriculture Equipment and Technology, Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, 212013, People’s Republic of China

    Yuting Yan, Qian Liu, Nan Hao, Saibo Chen, Tianyan You, Hanping Mao & Kun Wang

  2. Jiangsu Province Synergistic Innovation Center of Modern Agricultural Equipment and Technology, Zhenjiang, China

    Xiaoya Dong

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  1. Yuting Yan
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  2. Qian Liu
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  4. Nan Hao
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  5. Saibo Chen
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  6. Tianyan You
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  7. Hanping Mao
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  8. Kun Wang
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Correspondence to Hanping Mao or Kun Wang.

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Yan, Y., Liu, Q., Dong, X. et al. Copper(I) oxide nanospheres decorated with graphene quantum dots display improved electrocatalytic activity for enhanced luminol electrochemiluminescence. Microchim Acta 183, 1591–1599 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00604-016-1784-9

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