Sulfur-Doped Graphene-Based Electrochemical Sensors for Fast and Sensitive Determination of (R)-(+)-Limonene from Beverages

Abstract

Two sensors based on sulfur-doped graphene, a gold nanoparticle paste modified with 5,10,15,20-tetraphenyl-21H,23H-porphine and 5,10,15,20-tetrakis (pentafluorophenyl chloride)-21H,23H-iron (III) porphyrin, were proposed for the determination of R-limonene in beverages (triple sec liqueur and limoncello). Differential pulse voltammetry was the method used to characterize and validate the proposed sensors. The response characteristics showed that the detection limits for both sensors were 3 × 10−6 mol L−1, while the quantification limits were 1 × 10−5 mol L−1. Both sensors can be used to determine R-limonene in a concentration range between 1 × 10−5–6 × 10−4 mol L−1 for TPP/AuNPs-S-Gr and 1 × 10−5–1 × 10−3 mol L−1 for Fe(TPFPP)Cl/AuNPs-S-Gr. The highest sensitivity (0.7068 µA/mol L−1) was recorded when the TPP/AuNPs-S-Gr sensor was used, proving that the electrocatalytic effect of this electrocatalyst is higher compared to that of Fe(TPFPP)Cl/AuNPs-S-Gr. High recoveries (values greater than 99.00%) and low RSD values (%) (below 5.00%) were recorded for both sensors when used to determine R-limonene in triple sec liqueur and limoncello.