Electrochemical determination of chloramphenicol and metronidazole by using a glassy carbon electrode modified with iron, nitrogen co-doped nanoporous carbon derived from a metal-organic framework (type Fe/ZIF-8)

In this study, an iron-doped metal-organic framework (MOF) Fe/ZIF-8 was synthesized from ZIF-8 at room temperature. Direct carbonization of Fe/ZIF-8 under a nitrogen atmosphere produced nanoporous nitrogen doped carbon nanoparticles decorated with Fe component (Fe/NC). The Fe/NC exhibited a large surface area (1221.185 m2 g−1) and narrow pore-size distribution (3–5 nm). The nanoporous Fe/NC components along with Nafion were used to modify a glassy carbon electrode for the electrochemical determination of chloramphenicol and metronidazole via linear sweep voltammetry. Under optimal conditions, the reduction peak currents (observed at −0.237 V and −0.071 V vs. Ag/AgCl) of these analytes increased linearly with increasing chloramphenicol and metronidazole concentrations in the range of 0.1–100 μM and 0.5–30 μM, with the detection limits estimated to be 31 nM and 165 nM, respectively. This result was attributed to the large surface area, porous structure, high nitrogen content, and as well as the electrocatalytic effect of Fe atoms embeded in the carbon support. The proposed sensor was used for chloramphenicol and metronidazole analysis in samples, providing satisfactory results. The preparation process of Fe/NC and application for determination of CAP and MNZ. [Display omitted] •Abuse of chloramphenicol and metronidazole may pose a serious threat to human health. So it is important to develop sensitive and highly effective methods for detecting these antibiotics in food and water samples.•Iron, nitrogen co-doped nanporous Fe/NC components with large specific surface area and uniform mesoporous structure were prepared by the extremely simple way.•A highly-sensitive electrochemical sensor for the simultaneous determination of chloramphenicol and metronidazole have been fabricated by using the Fe/NC nanocomposite.