Flame synthesis of nitrogen doped carbon for the oxygen reduction reaction and non-enzymatic methyl parathion sensor

Abstract

Growing concerns about the economical feasibility of materials synthesis means that simple methodologies to furnish materials are needed. Moreover, the multi-functional activity of these as-prepared materials is of great importance. Hence, here we report nitrogen-doped carbon nanoparticles from a one-step flame synthesis by directly burning pyrrole at room temperature and in an air atmosphere. The as-synthesized N-doped carbon was scrutinized as a cathode material for the oxygen reduction reaction and was also demonstrated in an electrochemical sensor. Furthermore, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Raman analysis was carried out to confirm the percentage of nitrogen content, the bonding environment and the disorder of carbon. The as-prepared N-doped carbon exhibits superior electrocatalytic activity towards the ORR compared with a commercial Pt/C catalyst. Moreover, the N-doped carbon modified glassy carbon electrode manifests a sensitive electrochemical response towards the detection of methyl parathion. A linear response was demonstrated by the fabricated sensor across two concentration ranges, from 0.0025 to 1 μM and 1 to 100 μM, with a lower detection limit of 0.068 nM. The proposed method is very simple, low cost and it can be utilized for practical applications to produce carbon materials on a large scale.