Fabrication of graphene oxide decorated with nitrogen-doped graphene quantum dots and its enhanced electrochemiluminescence for ultrasensitive detection of pentachlorophenol

Abstract

Nitrogen-doped graphene quantum dots (NGQDs), as a new class of quantum dots, have potential applications in fuel cells and optoelectronics fields due to their electrocatalytic activity, tunable luminescence and biocompatibility. Herein, a facile hydrothermal approach for cutting nitrogen-doped graphene into NGQDs has been proposed for the first time. The resulting NGQDs were homogeneously modified onto the surface of graphene oxide (GO) to form NGQDs-GO nanocomposites. Compared with NGQDs, the as-prepared NGQDs-GO nanocomposites exhibited excellent electrochemiluminescence (ECL) performances including 3.8-fold enhancement of ECL intensity and a decrease by 200 mV of the ECL onset potential, which are ascribed to the introduction of GO. Based on the selective inhibitory effect of pentachlorophenol (PCP) on the ECL intensity of the NGQDs-GO system, a novel ECL sensor for PCP concentration determination was constructed, with a wide linear response ranging from 0.1 to 10 pg mL⁻¹ and a detection limit of 0.03 pg mL⁻¹. The practicability of the sensing platform in real water samples showed satisfactory results, which could open the possibility of using NGQDs-based nanocomposites in the electroanalytical field.