Highly Sensitive Electrochemical Determination of Luteolin Using Self-Assembled Titanium Carbide/Single-Walled Carbon Nanohorns (SWCNHs) and Differential Pulsed Stripping Voltammetry (DPV)

Abstract

A novel electrochemical sensor based upon a Ti₃C₂/single-walled carbon nanohorn (SWCNH) composite was constructed using self-assembly for the determination of luteolin. The doping of SWCNHs avoids the restacking of Ti₃C₂ nanosheets, thus significantly improving the electrochemical properties of Ti₃C₂/SWCNHs. The Ti₃C₂/SWCNH nanocomposite was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The performance of the sensor was investigated by differential pulse stripping voltammetry (DPV). The Ti₃C₂/SWCNH-modified glassy carbon electrode exhibits enhanced electrocatalytic activity for luteolin. The composite electrode demonstrates excellent conductivity and high catalysis due to the synergistic properties of Ti₃C₂ with SWCNHs, which provides high selectivity, good reproducibility, and a low detection limit. Under the optimal conditions, the peak current of the sensor increases linearly with the luteolin concentration from 0.5 to 20 μM, with a detection limit of 0.0086 μM. The sensor was employed for the determination of luteolin in chrysanthemum tea with recoveries between 101.6% and 104.9%. Therefore, the electrochemical sensor based upon the Ti₃C₂/SWCNH composite is expected to have applications in food and pharmaceutical analysis.

Keywords:

• Differential pulsed stripping voltammetry
• electrochemical sensor
• luteolin/single-walled carbon nanohorns
• titanium carbide

Author contributions

Zhiyang Feng: Methodology, Formal analysis, Writing–original draft; Liwen Zhang: Data curation, Formal analysis; Wenyi Huang: Formal analysis, Supervision; Writing—review and editing; Lijun Li: Resources, Supervision, Writing—review and editing; Danfeng Qin: Methodology, Conceptualization; Hao Cheng: Funding acquisition, Conceptualization.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflicts of interest are reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was financially supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Guangxi (No. AD21220149) and the Doctor Startup Foundation of Guangxi University of Science and Technology (No. 21Z06)