Micelle modified-carbon nanosphere enhanced chemiluminescence from reactive oxygen species for the detection of hydrogen peroxide

Abstract

In this work, carbon nanospheres (CNSs) were prepared with glucose through a hydrothermal synthesis method. Subsequently, a cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) bilayer was used to modify the surface of the as-prepared CNSs (denoted as CTAB–CNSs). Interestingly, it was found that CTAB–CNSs could significantly amplify chemiluminescence (CL) emissions from some reactive oxygen species systems, including the Co(II)–H₂O₂–OH⁻ system, ClO⁻ system and ONOO⁻ system. The CL intensity was proportional to the concentration of H₂O₂ in the Co(II)–H₂O₂–OH⁻ system in a linear range of 5–1000 μM with a limit of detection of 2.6 μM (S/N = 3). The enhancement mechanism of CTAB–CNS-amplified CL from the Co(II)–H₂O₂–OH⁻ system was investigated using the fluorescence spectra, CL spectrum, scavengers of reactive oxygen species, and UV-vis absorption spectra. The results indicated that the CTAB bilayer on the surface of CNSs could form a particular micelle microenvironment, facilitating the reaction between reactive intermediates and CNSs. Finally, this method has been successfully used to detect H₂O₂ in river water and lake water samples, and the recoveries were from 96 to 110%. The relative standard deviation (RSD) for nine repeated measurements was less than 5%.