Cuprous oxide nanocubes for simultaneous electrochemical detection and photocatalytic degradation of para-chloronitrobenzene. Issue 6 (December 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Chakraborty, Urmila; Kaur, Ishneet; Bhanjana, Gaurav; Kumar, Sandeep; Kaur, Gurpreet; Kaushik, Ajeet; Chaudhary, Ganga Ram
• Is Part Of: Journal of environmental chemical engineering. Volume 10:Issue 6(2022)
• Publication Date: 2022-12
• Subjects: Para-chloronitrobenzene -- Cuprous oxide nanocubes -- Nano-catalyst -- Electrochemical sensor -- Photocatalysis -- Environmental monitoring; Chemical engineering -- Environmental aspects -- Periodicals; Environmental engineering -- Periodicals; Chemical engineering -- Environmental aspects; Environmental engineering; Periodicals; 660.0286
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jece.2022.108662
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2213-2929

Abstract

Abstract: Para-chloronitrobenzene (PCNB) is a widely used nitro-aromatic compound as well as a highly hazardous environmental contaminant. Hence, sensing of PCNB at low concentration, and its eradication still remain challenging. Therefore, this research reports fabrication of cuprous oxide (Cu2 O) nanocubes (NCs, 35–45 nm) using a very simple in-situ nucleation method. Such synthesized Cu2 O NCs were utilized for fabricating Cu2 O NCs/Au electrode to detect PCNB in aqueous samples, and further for PCNB degradation based on photo-catalysis. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) approaches were utilized to examine the effects of various parameters like coating amount, scan rate, pH and analyte concentration. Further, the estimation of analytical parameters through amperometry revealed appreciable electrode sensitivity (4.53 µA µM −1 cm −2 ), wide linear range (8.0–40.0; 40.0–285.7 µM) and nanomolar limit of detection (24.3 nM) for PCNB at neutral pH. The Cu2 O NCs/Au sensor demonstrates remarkable reusability and proffers selective PCNB detection with reproducible results in lab samples and real water. Apart from efficient sensing of PCNB, the Cu2 O NCs also catalyzed the photodegradation of PCNB and resulted in ∼ 92% and ∼ 68.5% degradation after 120 min exposure under UV-LED and visible light (500 W), respectively, in neutral pH water samples. Additionally, the Cu2 O NCs also offer efficient detection and degradation of PCNB in real water samples. Further, the assessment of phytotoxicity of the Cu2 O NCs, reveal their environmentally benign nature. Thus, the Cu2 O NCs can be utilized for simple, safe, cost-effective, and label-free PCNB sensor-fabrication as well as for remediation of PCNB from aqueous medium. Graphical Abstract: ga1 Highlights: Uniform-shaped Cu2 O nanocubes (NCs) were synthesized using in-situ nucleation. Cu2 O NCs/Au electrode was used as a sensor for para-chloronitrobenzene (PCNB). Cu2 O NCs/Au sensor offered nanomolar detection of PCNB with LOD of 24.3 nM. Cu2 O NCs catalyzed successful photodegradation of PCNB under UV and visible light. ∼92% and ∼50% PCNB degraded after 120 min exposure under UV and visible light.