A graphene oxide-based molecularly imprinted polymer platform for detecting endocrine disrupting chemicals

A molecularly imprinted polymer–graphene oxide (MIP–GO) hybrid material was synthesized by reversible addition and fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization using RAFT agent functionalized GO as chain transfer agent. The formation of this hybrid material was verified by Raman spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and thermal gravimetric analysis. Atomic force microscopy showed that the average thickness of the polymer grafted on the GO surface is about 3.70 nm. The resulting GO–MIP hybrids showed outstanding affinity towards 2,4-dichlorophenol (2,4-DCP) in aqueous solution. The GO–MIP hybrids bind the original template 2,4-DCP with an appreciable selectivity over structurally related compounds. Density functional theory calculations verified the mechanism of the significant improvements on the affinity and selectivity of the MIP-functionalized graphene materials.