Electrochemical detection of toxic anti-scald agent diphenylamine using oxidized carbon nanofiber encapsulated titanium carbide electrocatalyst.

Two dimensional (2D) titanium carbide (Ti-C) is an analogues of graphene have tremendous attention in recent years due to their high electrical conductivity and catalytic activity. Herein, we have synthesized Ti-C micro particles based on the template-assisted method and subsequently integrated with oxidized carbon nanofiber (f-CNF) through ultrasonication technique. The prepared Ti-C/f-CNF composite was subjected to various structural and morphological characterization techniques including the X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The all followed studies confirmed the formation and crystalline nature of prepared Ti-C/f-CNF nanocomposite. Further, the proposed Ti-C/f-CNF composite modified electrode was successfully applied as an electrocatalyst for the electrochemical detection of diphenylamine (DPA) in food. DPA is known as an anti-scald agent used to post harvest treatment of fruits. However, the higher concentration of DPA causes some hazardous side effects to human. Thus, the detection of DPA is an important concern in healthcare research. Eventually, the proposed Ti-C/f-CNF/SPCE exhibited ultra-low detection limit of (0.003 μM) with a linear range of 0.04-56.82 μM towards the detection of DPA. Moreover, the practicability of the proposed sensor was tested by real sample analysis by using fresh apple extract. Remarkably, the proposed sensor showed an excellent recovery range from 106.8% to 108% for the detection of DPA in spiked apple extract. Finally, we concluded that the integration of f-CNF with Ti-C is significantly enhanced both electrical conductivity and electrocatalytic activity for sensor application.