Enhancement of Ni/NiO/graphitized carbon and β-Cyclodextrin/reduced graphene oxide for the electrochemical detection of norfloxacin in water sample

Residues of norfloxacin (NF) in environment caused public concerns for its side effects and the presence of bacteria resistance. Developing novel method for selective and sensitive determination of NF is important. In the present work, an electrochemical sensing method was proposed by employing the electrode material composed of graphitized carbon supported Ni/NiO clusters (Ni/NiO/C) and β-Cyclodextrin modified reduced graphene oxide (β-CD/RGO). These materials were characterized and analyzed by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), Raman, X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) in detail. β-CD/RGO as electrode modification material with the ability to adsorb more guest molecules and promote electron transfer had been reported. Herein, electrochemical test demonstrated that Ni/NiO/C can catalyze NF oxidation and showed similar conductivity with β-CD/RGO. Benefited from the synergy effect between Ni/NiO/C and β-CD/RGO, the proposed method showed a wide linear range of 0.4 to 80 μM and a low detection limit of 0.01 μM (S/N = 3) for NF detection. Additionally, the proposed method was also applied to detect NF added in water sample with good recoveries obtained.