Electrochemically reduced micellar graphene oxide modified electrode for simultaneous detection of carbofuran and carbendazim

Abstract

Graphene, an isolated single layer of graphite, is one of the well-publicized carbon based nanomaterials used for electrode modification in electrochemical sensor due to its outstanding electrochemical properties. However, hydrophobicity of graphene makes it incompatible with aqueous solution, leading to impediment to electron transfer process. Here, we alter graphene property to be hydrophilicity by using electrochemically reduced micellar graphene oxide for electrode surface modification. Then, this system was applied for the simultaneous determination of carbofuran and carbendazim. Interestingly, the modified electrode offers an improved electrochemical sensitivity, verified by a drastic increase in current signal of carbofuran (4 times) and carbendazim (12 times) compared with unmodified electrode. Under the optimal conditions, low detection limits of carbofuran and carbendazim were found to be 10 µg L-1 and 5 µg L-1 with the wide linear ranges of 40-20,000 µg L-1and 25-5,000 µg L-1, respectively. Ultimately, this approach was successfully applied for sensitive determination of carbofuran and carbendazim residues in real agricultural products.