Direct electrochemiluminescence of CdTe quantum dots based on room temperature ionic liquid film and high sensitivity sensing of gossypol

A new method with high sensitivity was developed to determine gossypol content using CdTe quantum dot (QD) electrochemiluminescence (ECL) with a room temperature ionic liquid (RTIL) modified glassy carbon (GC) electrode. It was found that use of RTIL film on the GC electrode can greatly enhance the ECL intensity of CdTe QDs, and the ECL peak potential and ECL onset potential were both shifted positively. Under optimal conditions, the quenching effect of gossypol on the ECL emission of CdTe QDs was observed, and ECL intensity showed a good linear relationship in the gossypol concentration range of 5.0 × 10−7 to 5.0 × 10−9 M with a detection limit of 5.0 × 10−9 M. The proposed method was used to detect gossypol in cottonseed oil with satisfactory results. As a result, the introduction of an RTIL-modified electrode can extend the analytical applications of QD ECL systems.