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Polycarbazole (PCZ)/nitrogen-doped graphene (N-GE) composite was prepared by electropolymerization of carbazole on the N-GE modified glass carbon electrode (N-GE/GCE) for fabricating a novel electrochemical sensor for 4-nitrophenol (4-NP). The PCZ/N-GE shows high conductivity and well-distributed nanostructure. The redox behavior of 4-NP at a PCZ/N-GE/GCE was investigated in acetate buffer solution by cyclic voltammetry (CV), compared with the bare GCE, reduced graphene oxide (RGO), N-GE and PCZ modified GCEs. The results indicate that all modified electrodes show the enhanced reduction peak currents. However, the PCZ/N-GE/GCE exhibits the highest peak current and most positive reduction potential of 4-NP, which reflects the PCZ/N-GE composite has the best electrocatalytic activity towards 4-NP. The enhanced electrochemical performance of PCZ/N-GE and the electrocatalytic activity to 4-NP are contributed to the synergic effect of PCZ and N-GE with highly conductivity and large surface area, which can greatly facilitate the electron-transfer processes between the electrolyte and electrode. An electrochemical sensor for 4-NP was developed based on the PCZ/N-GE modified electrode under the optimized conditions. The reduction peak current was linear with the concentration of 4-NP in the range of 8 × 10 -7 ∼2 × 10 -5 M. The low detection limit of the sensor was estimated to be 0.062 μM (S/N = 3). The sensor based on PCZ/N-GE/GCE was also applied to the detection of 4-NP in real water samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Polycarbazole (PCz) and PCz/chemically reduced graphene oxide (PCz/CRGO) modified glassy carbon electrodes (GCEs) were fabricated by a simple procedure and characterized. The modified electrodes based on PCz or PCz/CRGO were used as sensing electrodes for the voltammetric investigation of imidacloprid (IMI) insecticides. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) were used as sensing techniques. Both of modified electrodes have good electrocatalytic activity toward the reduction of IMI. The presence of CRGO enhanced the electrochemical signal of the modified glassy carbon electrode (GCE), which increased the sensitivity of the sensor. The limit of detection (LOD) and the limit of quantitation (LOQ) values for CV are 0.22μM and 0.74μM, respectively; while those values for DPV are 0.44μM and 1.52μM, respectively. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]