Electrochemical Determination of Chloramphenicol on Glassy Carbon Electrode Modified Activated Carbon Derived from Rice Husks

Abstract

In the present article, the application of activated carbon derived from rice husks (RHAC) with high surface area as an electrode modifier for electrochemical determination of chloramphenicol (CP) is demonstrated. The RHAC was synthesized via a two-step alkaline pretreatment followed by the application of ultrasound radiation. The obtained carbon materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), nitrogen adsorption/desorption isotherms, Fourier transformation Infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy. It was found that the ultrasonic activation process plays a critical role in improving the textural properties of AC by removing fine particles to clean capillaries and transforming a graphitic structure to a turbostratic one. The RHAC synthesized in suitable conditions displayed a specific surface area up to 1710 m2 g−1. The glassy carbon electrode modified with RHAC exhibited an excellent electroactivity towards CP as compared to bare GCE. The voltammetry characteristics of the electrochemical sensor were studied by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV). This electrode had a good performance with a linear response range of 0.95–5.76 μM and a low detection limit of 0.66 μM (S/N = 3). The present promising sensor displayed high selectivity, great stability and expectable recovery for CP detection in real samples.