Electrochemical Determination of Pentachlorophenol Using a Glassy Carbon Electrode Modified with a Film of CuS Nanocomposite-Chitosan

Abstract

A new electrochemical sensor was fabricated by modifying the glass carbon electrode surface with CuS nanocomposites and chitosan for the determination of pentachlorophenol. CuS nanocomposites obtained by a solvothermal method were composed primarily of CuS with hexagonal phase and Cu₂Cl(OH)₃ with a tetragonal phase. The results indicated that CuS nanocomposites possessed good electrochemical activity. After optimizing the experimental conditions, the linear dependence of current vs. pentachlorophenol concentration was reached in a range from 1.88 × 10⁻⁶–7.50 × 10⁻⁵ mol/L pentachlorophenol, and the detection limit was 6.25 × 10⁻⁷ mol/L. The electrode displayed a high degree of stability and reproducibility. A new, simple, rapid, and highly sensitive electrochemical detection method of pentachlorophenol was established.

Keywords:

• CuS nanocomposite
• Cyclic voltammetry
• Modified electrode
• Pentachlorophenol

Acknowledgments

Financial support from the Nature Science Foundation of China (NSFC) (Grant No. 21077037 and 21075096) and the Scientific Research Key Project of Hubei Provincial Department of Education (Project No. D20121503) is gratefully acknowledged.