Nickel sulfide-incorporated sulfur-doped graphitic carbon nitride nanohybrid interface for non-enzymatic electrochemical sensing of glucose.

A nickel sulfide-incorporated sulfur-doped graphitic carbon nitride (NiS/S-g-C3N4) nanohybrid was utilized as an interface material for the non-enzymatic sensing of glucose in an alkaline medium (0.1 M NaOH). The precursors used in the preparation of NiS/S-g-C3N4 hybrid were thiourea and nickel nitrate hexahydrate as the sulfur and nickel sources, respectively. The HRTEM results reveal that NiS nanoparticles incorporated on the S-g-C3N4 nanosheet surface could enhance the electrocatalytic activity and electrical conductivity. The prepared NiS/S-g-C3N4 crystalline nature, surface functionalities, graphitic nature, thermal stability and surface composition were investigated using XRD, FT-IR, Raman spectroscopy, TGA and XPS analyses. The NiS/S-g-C3N4 modified electrode was used for the non-enzymatic sensing of glucose at an applied potential of 0.55 V vs. Ag/AgCl with a detection limit of 1.5 µM (S/N = 3), sensitivity of 80 µA mM-1 cm-2 and the response time of the fabricated sensor was close to 5 s. Different inorganic ions and organic substances did not interfere during glucose sensing. The NiS/S-g-C3N4 nanohybrid material could be extended for a real sample analysis and open the way for diverse opportunities in the electrochemical sensing of glucose.

Influence of the Positioning of the Incorporated Carbon Nanostructures on the Morphology and Photocatalytic Activity of Microwave Synthesized ZnO Nanorods.

In the present work, ZnO nanorods and ZnO/GO/CNT nanocomposite have been prepared by microwave assisted method using various time of incorporation of GO/CNT. The structural and optical characterizations were performed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning electron microscope (SEM), UV-Visible spectrometer (UV-Vis) and Photoluminescence (PL). The XRD data showed that the most intense peak at 36° belong to (101) plane of ZnO nanorods. SEM results showed the formation of nano rods assembled in flower like structure. UV spectra shows that the samples absorb ultraviolet light and had a band gap value of 3.1-3.2 eV. The PL spectra showed the lowest PL intensity band for ZnO/GO/CNT-A. Higher photocatalytic degradation of 91% was determined in ZnO/GO/CNT composite when GO/CNT was added at the end of the procedure.