Soft functionalization of carbon nanofibers with tannic acid enables hierarchical zinc oxide nanorods architecture for the highly sensitive electrochemical detection of chlorpromazine.

Abstract

A surface engineering technique is described to improve the dispersibility of carbon nanofiber (CNF ) in water and to provide oxygen-rich anchor sites for ZnO nanorods (NRs) by adsorbing tannic acid (TA) on CNF surfaces through π-π interactions and hydrogen bonding, followed by sonochemically assembling the ZnO NRs onto the TA-CNF to form a TA-CNF/ZnO NRs composite. The addition of TA on CNF surfaces improved the homogeneity of ZnO NRs distribution within the composite and increased the relative surface area of the TA-CNF/ZnO NRs compared to pristine CNF from 15.16 m2 g-1 to 193.17 m2 g-1. Under optimized parameters, the TA-CNF/ZnO NRs electrode displayed superior electrocatalytic activity for CPZ detection, with a detection linear range from 0.01 to 483 µM, excellent sensitivity (3.03 µA µM-1 cm-2), and a lower limit of detection (0.005 µM). Also, the fabricated sensor showed satisfactory stability, accuracy, and anti-interference capability against CPZ detection. Recoveries of 99.64-99.97% with relative standard deviations below 2.2% were obtained in spiked human serum and urine samples. These results demonstrate that polyphenol-assisted interfacial engineering of TA-CNF/ZnO NRs composite provides a promising platform for sensitive electrochemical monitoring of antipsychotic drugs in biological matrices.

Abstract as supplied by the indexing source. © the authors / publisher.