Conductive polymer based MWCNTs nanocomposite as electrochemical sensing platform to detect chloramphenicol

A sensing platform for the determination of chloramphenicol is put forward based on a nanocomposite of conductive polymer (polypyrrole), MWCNTs, and Ionic liquid (Ppy-MWCNTs-IL). The synthesized polypyrrole and its nanocomposite were characterized through FTIR spectroscopy, SEM, and HR-TEM. Polypyrrole possesses excellent conductivity compared to other insulating polymers and can be utilized to selectively interact with analyte through π-π interaction. MWCNTs are also known for their conductivity and high surface area which is essential for sensing purposes. The ionic liquid acts as a conductive binding agent which helps in preparing a uniform nanocomposite layer. Fabricated electrode gave excellent results for chloramphenicol with a detection limit of 8.94 μg L−1 and linear range of 30 – 700 μgL−1. Other analytical parameters such as repeatability and reproducibility (RSD 2.09 %) were also measured and found to be satisfactory. The stability of the nanocomposite film on the Indium tin oxide (ITO) electrode was attributed to the excellent film-forming capability of polypyrrole and ionic liquid that resulted in providing good shelf life (25 days). The fabricated sensor was further used to detect chloramphenicol in real water samples by spike recovery test.