Selective recognition and electrochemical detection of p-nitrophenol based on a macroporous imprinted polymer containing gold nanoparticles

We have combined the molecular imprinting and the layer-by-layer assembly techniques to obtain molecularly imprint polymers (MIPs) for the electrochemical determination of p-nitrophenol (p-NPh). Silica microspheres functionalized with thiol groups and gold nanoparticles (Au-NPs) were assembled on a gold electrode surface layer by layer. The electrode was then immersed into a solution of pyrrole and p-NPh (the template), and electropolymerization led to the creation of a polymer-modified surface. After the removal of the silica spheres and the template, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) were employed to characterize the surface. The results demonstrated the successful fabrication of macroporous MIPs embedded with Au-NPs on the gold electrode. The effects of monomer concentration and scan rate on the performance of the electrode were optimized. Excellent recognition capacity is found for p-NPh over chemically similar species. The DPV peak current is linearly related to concentration of p-NPh in the 0.1 μM to 1.4 mM range, with a 0.1 μM limit of detection (at S/N = 3).

Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) and nanomaterials were combined to prepare a novel macroporous structured MIPs based electrochemical sensor for the investigation of an environmental pollutant, p-nitrophenol (p-NPh). The sensor exhibited a fast binding dynamics, good specific adsorption capacities, and high selective recognition to p-NPh.