Impedimetric sensing platform for sensitive carbendazim detection using MOCVD-synthesized copper graphene.

Nanostructures of graphene were synthesized for electrochemical carbendazim (CBZ) fungicide detection via metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). The arduous process of graphene transfer is eliminated by this innovative approach to MOCVD graphene development. It also generates several defects and impurities and ultimately leads to the uniform deposition of graphene on SiO2/Si. SEM, EDX, and ICP-AES were used to assess the morphological properties and chemical composition of the materials. To obtain in-depth knowledge of the entire system, the electrochemical behavior was also investigated using voltammetric techniques and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The interaction of particles of copper with CBZ and the enhanced surface area of graphene, which causes a strong oxidation current, has been demonstrated to achieve the ideal CBZ sensing behavior. The electrode responded linearly at CBZ concentration levels of 1 to 50 nM, and the sensitivity of the sensing materials was estimated to be 0.0337 Ω nM-1. The statistical analysis validates the electrode's exceptional selectivity and remarkable reproducibility in determining CBZ.

Proton-Coupled Electron Transfer on Cu2O/Ti3C2Tx MXene for Propane (C3H8) Synthesis from Electrochemical CO2 Reduction.

Electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR) to produce value-added multi-carbon chemicals has been an appealing approach to achieving environmentally friendly carbon neutrality in recent years. Despite extensive research focusing on the use of CO2 to produce high-value chemicals like high-energy-density hydrocarbons, there have been few reports on the production of propane (C3H8), which requires carbon chain elongation and protonation. A rationally designed 0D/2D hybrid Cu2O anchored-Ti3C2Tx MXene catalyst (Cu2O/MXene) is demonstrated with efficient CO2RR activity in an aqueous electrolyte to produce C3H8. As a result, a significantly high Faradaic efficiency (FE) of 3.3% is achieved for the synthesis of C3H8 via the CO2RR with Cu2O/MXene, which is ≈26 times higher than that of Cu/MXene prepared by the same hydrothermal process without NH4OH solution. Based on in-situ attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) and density functional theory (DFT) calculations, it is proposed that the significant electrocatalytic conversion originated from the synergistic behavior of the Cu2O nanoparticles, which bound the *C2 intermediates, and the MXene that bound the *CO coupling to the C3 intermediate. The results disclose that the rationally designed MXene-based hybrid catalyst facilitates multi-carbon coupling as well as protonation, thereby manipulating the CO2RR pathway.