Nanoscale Modification and Functionalization of Carbon Electrodes for the Detection of Harmful Organic Chemicals in Water

Abstract

Novel nano materials with biosensing functions possess great potential in the development of a new generation of chemical sensors and actuators in the detection of organic pollutants such as phenol and phenol derivatives. There has been continued interest in the STEM research field to use nanostructured materials such as TiO2 and ZrO2 as film forming materials since they have high surface area, optical transparency, chemical inertness, robust mechanical strength, relatively good conductivity and long term mechanical stability. The goal of this project was to study the use of novel materials such as ZrO2 and TiO2 and mixture (TiO2 + ZrO2) nanoscale modified electrodes to optimize the detection limits for phenol compounds electrochemically utilizing cyclic voltammetry. The studies for this STEM research was directed towards the synthesis of nanostructured metal oxides such as TiO2 and ZrO2 and mixture that exhibited electrochemical activity towards the phenol and phenol derivatives of interest at optimized pH values. The results of this modified metal oxide electrodes will be discussed and the morphology of the novel modified metal oxide surfaces will be illustrated by studies such as AFM and SEM. These studies will help to understand the morphology better of the novel surface nanoscale modified electrodes developed for the detection of these harmful organic chemicals such as phenol and phenol derivatives.