Electrodeposited nitrogen-doped graphene/carbon nanotubes nanocomposite as enhancer for simultaneous and sensitive voltammetric determination of caffeine and vanillin

•The first electrochemical sensor for caffeine (CAF) and vanillin (VAN).•NGR–NCNTs was modified through electrodeposition for the first time.•The sensor was qualified for real sample determination with satisfactory results.

A nitrogen-doped graphene/carbon nanotubes (NGR–NCNTs) nanocomposite was employed into the study of the electrochemical sensor via electrodeposition for the first time. The morphology and structure of NGR–NCNTs nanocomposite were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), respectively. Meanwhile, the electrochemical performance of the glassy carbon electrode (GCE) modified with electrodeposited NGR–NCNTs (ENGR–NCNTs/GCE) towards caffeine (CAF) and vanillin (VAN) determination was demonstrated by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and square wave voltammetry (SWV). Under optimal condition, ENGR–NCNTs/GCE exhibited a wide linearity of 0.06–50 μM for CAF and 0.01–10 μM for VAN with detection limits of 0.02 μM and 3.3 × 10−3 μM, respectively. Furthermore, the application of the proposed sensor in food products was proven to be practical and reliable. The desirable results show that the ENGR–NCNTs nanocomposite has promising potential in electrocatalytic biosensor application.

Graphical abstractA nanocomposite of nitrogen-doped graphene (NGR) and nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes (NCNTs) was first modified onto an electrode through electrodeposition method and employed to sensitively detect caffeine and vanillin simultaneously for the first time.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide