Electrospun zirconia-embedded carbon nanofibre for high-sensitive determination of methyl parathion

•Electrospun zirconia-embedded carbon nanofibers are facilely fabricated.•Ultrafine zirconia particles (ϕ 5 ± 2 nm) are uniformly distributed in nanofibers.•The zirconia/carbon nanofiber electrode is applied for measuring methyl parathion.•The detection limit of the zirconia-based sensor to methyl parathion is much improved.

Carbon nanofibers embedded with ultrafine zirconia nanoparticles (ZrO2-CNFs) are fabricated via a new methodology. Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) binary polymers containing zirconium n-butoxide are first dissolved in dimethylformamide, and the resulting solution is electrospun and heat-treated. The tetragonal zirconia nanoparticles formed, with a size of 5 ± 2 nm in diameter, are uniformly distributed in the carbon nanofibres. Using Nafion as an additive, ZrO2-CNFs are drop-cast onto the glassy carbon electrode (ZrO2-CNF/GCE) and the modified electrode is then applied to detect methyl parathion (MP) using differential pulse voltammetry. Two linear relationships are found at the concentration ranges of 1 × 10− 9-2 × 10− 8 g/L and 2 × 10− 8-2 × 10− 7 g/L, with a detection limit of 3.4 × 10− 10 g/L (S/N > 3). The electrospun-based ZrO2-CNF is a very promising coating material for electrochemical sensing of organophosphorus compounds.

Graphical abstractDownload high-res image (107KB)Download full-size image