Electrochemical determination of chloramphenicol and metronidazole by using a glassy carbon electrode modified with iron, nitrogen co-doped nanoporous carbon derived from a metal-organic framework (type Fe/ZIF-8).

In this study, an iron-doped metal-organic framework (MOF) Fe/ZIF-8 was synthesized from ZIF-8 at room temperature. Direct carbonization of Fe/ZIF-8 under a nitrogen atmosphere produced nanoporous nitrogen doped carbon nanoparticles decorated with Fe component (Fe/NC). The Fe/NC exhibited a large surface area (1221.185 m2 g-1) and narrow pore-size distribution (3-5 nm). The nanoporous Fe/NC components along with Nafion were used to modify a glassy carbon electrode for the electrochemical determination of chloramphenicol and metronidazole via linear sweep voltammetry. Under optimal conditions, the reduction peak currents (observed at -0.237 V and -0.071 V vs. Ag/AgCl) of these analytes increased linearly with increasing chloramphenicol and metronidazole concentrations in the range of 0.1-100 µM and 0.5-30 µM, with the detection limits estimated to be 31 nM and 165 nM, respectively. This result was attributed to the large surface area, porous structure, high nitrogen content, and as well as the electrocatalytic effect of Fe atoms embeded in the carbon support. The proposed sensor was used for chloramphenicol and metronidazole analysis in samples, providing satisfactory results.

Photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue by TiO2/Nd2O3 composite thin films.

To improve the photocatalytic property of TiO2 thin films, the composite thin films of TiO2/Nd2O3 structure were fabricated by electron-beam physical vapor deposition method, and the photocatalytic property of the fabricated films was experimentally studied in the present work. The XRD and Raman analyses show that the TiO2/Nd2O3 films are mainly hexagonal crystalline phase of Nd2O3. The XPS analysis for the chemical state changes of Ti, O and Nd of the basic elements in the films is confirming the electron flow in the internal electric field which generated in the TiO2/Nd2O3 films. The surface morphology shows the lattice distortion which affects the changes in the energy band structure. Moreover, the formation of n-n homojunctions improved the separation efficiency of electrons and holes, and enhanced the catalytic activity. The photocatalytic performance for the methylene blue target dye shows that the sample with TiO2 thickness of 20-25 nm has better performance, high degradation efficiency and high reaction rate.

Differential pulse voltammetry detection of Pb(ii) using nitrogen-doped activated nanoporous carbon from almond shells.

Almond shell-based charcoal was prepared by carbonizing almond shells in a nitrogen atmosphere. Nanoporous carbon (NPC) was formed via activating the obtained charcoal using potassium hydroxide as an activating agent, followed by the synthesis of nitrogen-doped nanoporous carbon (N-NPC) via a hydrothermal reaction using urea as the nitrogen source. The obtained N-NPC possessed a large surface area (1075 m2 g-1), narrow pore-size distribution (1-2 nm) and nitrogen content reaching 2.23 wt%. Using N-NPC with Nafion to modify a glassy carbon electrode, a highly sensitive electrochemical sensor was fabricated for the determination of Pb(ii) in aqueous solutions with differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry (DPASV). The peak current of Pb(ii) showed linearity over concentrations from 2.0 to 120 µg L-1 and the detection limit (S/N = 3) was estimated to be 0.7 µg L-1 for Pb(ii), which was 15-fold lower than the guideline value of drinking water given by the World Health Organization (WHO). The experimental data indicated that this easy and low-cost method is an accurate and fast method for the detection of trace Pb(ii).