Facial synthesis of Fe/Fe3N@carbon nanocomposite for simultaneous electrochemical detection of dopamine and acetaminophen.

In this work, a serial of Fe/Fe 3 N based nanocomposites were synthesized by high-temperature pyrolytic method. Structural characterizations show that the small Fe/Fe 3 N nanoparticles uniformly dispersed on the surface of carbon films, where thin carbon may effectively enhance the stability of Fe/Fe 3 N and the carbon films can accelerate the migration of electrons. Moreover, Fe/Fe 3 N based composite can significantly increase the effective area of bare GCE because of its high conductivity, large surface area, and good catalytic property. These structural advantages enhance the electrochemical performance of the constructed electrodes toward simultaneous dopamine (DA) and acetaminophen (AP) sensing. Under optimum condition, the linear ranges for DA and AP detection were 0.05–66.4 μM and 0.05–56.9 μM, respectively. In addition, due to its high sensitivity, good selectivity and strong stability, Fe/Fe 3 N-900@GCE can also be applied for detecting DA and AP in real samples. This work provides a simple and effective strategy for constructing new electrode materials for small biomolecule sensing. Core-Shell Fe/Fe 3 N/carbon nanocomposites were synthesized by high-temperature pyrolytic method, and were developed as electrochemical sensors for dopamine and acetaminophen detection. [Display omitted] • Core-shell Fe/Fe 3 N/carbon composite was prepared by high-temperature pyrolytic method. • The carbon shells enhance the stability of Fe/Fe 3 N@C and accelerate the migration of electrons. • The construct electrode reveals high sensitivity toward simultaneous sensing of DA and AP. • The construct electrode can be used to detect DA and AP in commercial medicines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]