Iron enriched domestic glassy carbon composite as powerful tool for the phenol sensing

Abstract

The paper describes a new method for obtaining glassy carbon nanocomposite materials containing metals. New method for composite electrode production offers excellent mechanical and galvanic contact of active nanoparticles and glassy carbon matrix. Both glassy carbon, iron and magnetite nanoparticles were formed simultaneously upon calcination of phenol-formaldehyde resin and iron carboxylate solution in N,N-dimethylformamide. According to transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and powder x-ray diffractometry, iron forms particles of 10 … 30 nm in size, uniformly distributed in the glassy carbon matrix and the main phases of iron are Fe and Fe3O4. The electrochemical behavior of the material in the presence of phenol was examined in detail and a square wave voltammetry method was developed for the detection of phenol, which enabled precise and accurate detection in the concentration range from 3 to 150 μm. During the work, conditions for the most accurate determination of phenol in aqueous solutions were found. The detection limit and the limit of quantitative determination of phenol in aqueous solutions on selected electrodes were determined. Finally, the method was successfully applied to control the concentration of phenol in the water of the Miass River, where it showed very little influence of pollutants and sensitivity to phenol.