Three-dimensional β-cyclodextrin functionalized graphene aerogels: An enhanced electrochemical sensing platform for quantification of Ponceau 4R

Abstract β-Cyclodextrin (β-CD) with supramolecular recognition capability is widely used as signal amplifier in the fabrication of electrochemical sensor. Unfortunately, its poor electrical conductivity limits its application. To improve its conductivity and increase the loading of β-CD on the modified electrode, in this paper, three-dimensional (3D) porous graphene aerogels (GAs) were introduced as substrate material. The as-prepared β-CD/GAs composite offers high electrical conductivity, large specific surface area of 3D GAs coupled with the excellent adsorption ability of β-CD, and its application as electrochemical sensing platform for Ponceau 4R detection was investigated. Benefiting from the synergy between β-CD and GAs, the β-CD/GAs electrode could detect Ponceau 4R in a wide linear ranging from 1.0 nM to 1.0 μM with a low detection limit of 0.3 nM. Furthermore, the β-CD/GAs electrode also exhibited good anti-interference performance and long term stability, and was capable of detecting Ponceau 4R in the food samples.