Construction of cationic polyfluorinated azobenzene/reduced graphene oxide for simultaneous determination of dopamine, uric acid and ascorbic acid

A highly sensitive cationic polyfluorinated azobenzene/reduced graphene oxide (C3F7-azo+/RGO) nanocomposite electrochemical sensor for simultaneous detection of dopamine (DA), ascorbic acid (AA) and uric acid (UA) was successfully synthesized using a facile exfoliation/restacking method. The nanocomposite is self-assembled from oppositely charged graphene oxide nanosheets (GO) and polyfluorinated azobenzene cations (C3F7-azo+), and then obtained by electrochemical reduction. The structure and electrochemical properties were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive spectrometer analysis (EDS), transmission electron microscope (TEM) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The electrochemical property of C3F7-azo+/RGO was characterized by cyclic voltammetry (CV), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV). It can be clearly seen from experimental results that C3F7-azo+/RGO-modified electrode (C3F7-azo+/RGO/GCE) can detect DA, AA and UA simultaneously, and has good stability and anti-interference performance. The detection limits are 65 nM, 8 nM and 11 nM for DA, AA and UA in the ranges 57.28–134.28 μM, 0.04–6.01 μM, 9.23–23.45 μM, respectively. [Display omitted] •C3F7-azo+/GO nanocomposite was synthesized using exfoliation/restacking method.•Electrochemical reduction method was used to fabricate C3F7-azo+/RGO/GCE.•C3F7-azo+/RGO/GCE can detect AA, DA and UA simultaneously.•Detection limits of C3F7-azo+/RGO/GCE toward AA, DA and UA are very low.•C3F7-azo+/RGO/GCE has excellent stability and anti-interference capability.