Very sensitive differential pulse adsorptive stripping voltammetric determination of 4-nitrophenol at poly (diphenylamine)/multi-walled carbon nanotube-β-cyclodextrin-modified glassy carbon electrode

In this work, a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) modified with poly (diphenylamine)/multi-walled carbon nanotubes-β-cyclodextrin (PDPA/MWCNT-β-CD) film was constructed and used for the determination of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP). Diphenylamine was successfully electropolymerised onto MWCNT-β-CD-modified GCE by cyclic voltammetry in monomer solution and 5 mol L^?1 H₂SO₄. The surface morphology of PDPA/MWCNT-β-CD film was characterised using scanning electron microscopy and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. After adsorption of 4-NP on PDPA/MWCNT-β-CD at 0.2 V for 150 s, it showed a well-defined reduction peak in phosphate buffer solution at pH = 7. The PDPA/MWCNT-β-CD film enhanced the reduction peak current due to the complex formation between β-CD and 4-NP, presence of conductive polymer film as electron transfer mediator and also ability of MWCNTs for strong adsorptive and catalytic effect. Peak current increased linearly with 4-NP concentration in the range of 0.1 to 13.9 µg L^?1. The detection limit was obtained as 0.02 µg L^?1, which is better than other reported detection limits for the determination of 4-NP. The results showed that modified electrode has good sensitivity and selectivity. This sensor was used for the determination of 4-NP in water samples.     

Electrochemical Polymerisation of N‐Arylated and N‐Alkylated EDOT‐Substituted Pyrrolo[3,4‐c]pyrrole‐1,4‐dione (DPP) Derivatives: Influence of Substitution Pattern on Optical and Electronic Properties

New pyrrolo[3,4‐c]pyrrole‐1,4‐dione (DPP) derivatives carrying 3,4‐ethylenedioxy‐thiophenylphenyl (EDOT‐phenyl) substituent groups in the 3‐ and 6‐position, or in the 2‐ and 5‐position of the DPP chromophore were synthesised and electrochemically polymerised. The properties of the polymers were investigated using cyclic voltammetry and UV/Vis absorption spectroscopy. It was found that the optical and electronic properties differ greatly between the two polymers. Materials with EDOT‐phenyl groups in the 3‐ and 6‐positions represent conjugated polymers with a low oxidation potential and reversible electrochromic properties, whereas the polymer with EDOT‐phenyl groups in the 2‐ and 5‐positions is non‐conjugated and possesses a high oxidation potential and irreversible redox behaviour.

     

Synthesis,characterisation and application of mercapto- and polyaminophenol-bifunctionalised MCM-41 for dispersive micro solid phase extraction of Ni(II) prio to inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (DMSPE-ICP-OES)

Highly ordered adsorbent mesoporous silica (MCM-41) was synthesised using a rapid method and its subsequent chemical modification with 3-mercaptopropyltrimethoxysilane (MPTMS) in toluene medium at 60°C was performed. The electro-reduction product of 4-nitrophenol (EP4NP), as a new kind of polyaminophenol-type chelating agent with a high affinity to Ni(II), was then incorporated into MPTMS-MCM-41. The resulting materials (MCM-41, MPTMS-MCM-41 and EP4NP-MPTMS-MCM-41) were characterised by scanning electron microscopy, powder X-ray diffraction, nitrogen gas sorption and Fourier transform-infrared spectrometry. The new modified adsorbent EP4NP-MPTMS-MCM-41 was then employed for preconcentration of ultra-trace amounts of Ni(II) by dispersive micro solid phase extraction prior to inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry. The effects of variables such as pH, mass of the chelating agent, the amount of EP4NP-MPTMS-MCM-41, stirring time of extraction step, HCl concentration and stirring time during elution were optimised and the calibration curve was plotted. The limits of detection and quantitation were 0.006 and 0.019 μg L^?1, respectively. The mean, standard error and relative standard deviation for five replicates of 0.5 μg L^?1 Ni(II) were calculated to be 0.48 μg L^?1, 4.0% and 3.2%, respectively. The proposed method was successfully applied for determination of Ni(II) in wastewater samples.     

Incommensurate structures investigated by X-ray studies of electropolymerised methacrylic monomer with TiO2 nanoparticles

We explore the possibility of producing polymer nanocomposites with an ordered distribution of nanoparticles by using an electropolymerizable liquid crystal (LC) monomer. The nanoparticles are added to the monomer before polymerizing it. We study the polymer derived from the LC (E)-6-(3-hydroxy-4-(((4-octyloxy)phenyl)imino)methyl)phenoxy)hexyl methacrylate (M6R8) both pure and in the presence of 3.4 nm TiO₂ nanoparticles, at 30 wt%. This particular system is chosen since (1) the LC polymers we work with have the added advantage of having a specific orientation and structure which allows us to study its effect in the nanoparticles and (2) when considering the nanocomposite, it is polymerized with the nanoparticles included. The system is studied using grazing incidence small angle X-ray scattering and in-plane direction X-ray scattering. The polymer obtained alone appears to be tilted with respect to the surface of the substrate. The structure adopted by the nanoparticles in the nanocomposite is layered and apparently incommensurate with the polymer. It is formed through the association of the nanoparticles with the M6R8 aromatic cores during the process of electropolymerisation. This interpretation of the data is supported by the nanoparticle structures formed when the related, non-polymerizable LC, (E)-6-(3-hydroxy-4-(((4-octyloxy)phenyl)imino)methyl)phenoxy)hexyl isobutyrate (I6R8), is analysed. We find that for both, the pure polymer poly-((E)-6-(3-hydroxy-4-(((4-octyloxy)phenyl)imino)methyl)phenoxy)hexyl) methacrylate (EPM6R8) as well as the polymer with nanoparticles (EPM6R830TO), the electropolymerisation imposes a preferred growth direction of the polymer side chains, and therefore for the nanoparticle arrangement in the polymer.     

Interfacial potentiometry with double poles sensor based on molecularly imprinted polymer for monitoring of 4-aminoazobenzene

A 4-aminoazobenzene (4-AAB) molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) film was synthesised on the surface of a pencil graphite electrode (PGE) through electropolymerisation technique. After removing the template molecular 4-AAB with ultrasonic clean, 4-AAB-MIP-PGE was obtained. Under interfacial potentiometry with double poles (IPDP), the factors influencing the performance of this electrode were studied and optimised. Based on the rebinding of MIP to template molecular, which resulted in the changing of the interfacial potential at the corresponding interface, an IPDP sensor for the selective determination of 4-AAB was prepared. By recording the zero current potential E_ZCP, where circuit current I was equal to zero in the I–E curve, the changing of interfacial potential of this sensor was monitored. With the concentrations of 4-AAB increasing, the I–E curve shifted positively. And, the zero current potential was linearly related with the logarithm of the 4-AAB concentration in the range from 0.197 to 197 µg L^?1 with a detection limit of 0.135 µg L^?1 (S/N = 3). The sensor was used to determine the concentration of 4-AAB in waste water samples with the recoveries from 98.8% to103.0%.