Potato starch-derived almond-shaped carbon nanoparticles for non enzymatic detection of sucrose

We report the formation of almond-shaped carbon nanoparticles (ASCNs) from peeled potatoes and the fabrication of a highly sensitive and a selective non enzymatic sucrose sensor based on this carbon nanoparticle electrode. The potato was pyrolyzed initially at 400–500 °C in vacuum, followed by slow heating at around 800 °C, which produces the ASCNs. The ASCNs were examined by SEM, XRD, EDX and AFM and were further characterized by fluorescence microscopy, which clearly suggested their fluorescent nature. Electrochemical detection of sucrose was examined by cyclic voltammetry, differential pulse voltammetry and linear sweep voltammetry in an acidic solution. The new sensor shows a good response towards the sucrose oxidation, with a wide linear range (R2 = 0.99679), a high sensitivity of ∼41.73725 ± 0.01 μA·M−1·cm−2 and a low detection limit of 1 μmol/L. Moreover, it is also stable and has a short response time (9 s).