Cu5Zn8@SiO2/NC derived from Cu/ZIF-8 as an efficient electrochemical sensor for environmental pollutant detection in water bodies

Abstract

Sensitive detection of toxic substances in drinking water is always a difficult problem in electrochemical applications. This paper presents a new electrode enhanced with nanomaterials for the sensitive detection of nitrobenzene (NB). A bimetallic Cu₅Zn₈ alloy was created using the copper-zeolitic imidazole framework (Cu/ZIF-8). Based on this, we synthesized a Cu₅Zn₈@SiO₂/nitrogen-doped carbon (NC) composite. The experimental results showed that the Cu₅Zn₈@SiO₂/NC composite has good conductivity and electron transfer ability, which was conducive to the reduction of NB. The fabricated Cu₅Zn₈@SiO₂/NC electrode has a wide linear range with a low detection limit for the reduction of NB. At the same time, it has better anti-interference ability and reproducibility. Additionally, with good recoveries, Cu₅Zn₈@SiO₂/NC was successfully used to monitor NB in tap water.