Development of a novel methyl germanane modified disposable sensor and its application for voltammetric phenol detection

Abstract

Germanane is a novel 2D material and a good candidate for electrochemical applications due to it has high electron mobility and direct band gap. Methyl germanane (m-GMN) is a covalently terminated germanane and has superior catalytic activity, electron mobility and stability. Herein, m-GMN modified chemically activated pencil graphite electrodes (m-GMN/c-PGEs) were developed and m-GMN/c-PGEs were utilized for voltammetric detection of phenol (PNL). Chemical activation of PGEs (c-PGEs) was firstly performed, then m-GMN was modified at the surface of c-PGEs. Electrochemical and microscopic characterizations of m-GMN/c-PGEs were performed. The detection limits (LODs) were estimated as 0.72 μg/mL (7.65 μM) and 0.35 μg/mL (3.72 μM) using c-PGEs and m-GMN/c-PGEs, respectively. Application of the sensor was tested in water samples and the selectivity of the sensor system was tested against Cu2+, Hg2+, 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, 2,6-di-tert-butyl-4-methylphenol, D(+)glucose and paracetamol. A novel electrochemical sensor which had crucial properties such as being reproducible, repeatable, and stable was developed for PNL detection by the development of m-GMN/c-PGEs