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Polydopamine functionalized reduced graphene oxide-gold nanoparticle (PDA-RGO/Au) nanocomposites were successfully prepared by a simple and mild procedure. The PDA-RGO/Au nanocomposite is successfully formed in an aqueous buffer solution (pH 8.5) without using any reducing agent. FTIR confirmed the successful coating of PDA and informed the reduction of the surface functional groups of GO. The formation of reduced GO and Au NPs was further evidenced by UV-Vis and X-ray diffraction spectroscopy. This method is environmentally friendly and highly beneficial for the mass production of graphene-noble metal based nanocomposite. The as prepared PDA-RGO/Au nanocomposite could greatly enhance the electrochemical oxidation of nicotine. We fabricated an electrochemical nicotine sensor based on the prepared PDA-RGO/Au nanocomposite. The proposed nicotine sensor showed a wide detection range from 0.05 to 500 μM with a low detection limit of 0.015 μM. Moreover, the proposed nicotine sensor was also successfully applied for determination nicotine content in tobacco products.

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Today, metal doped ZnO exhibits good performances and attracts worldwide attention. In this paper, a ZIF-8@Zn 1Àx Ni x O photocatalyst was successfully prepared using MOF as precursor and AgNO 3 as catalyst. We explored the influence of Ni content on the photocatalytic activity of ZIF-8@Zn 1Àx Ni x O. The structure and properties of ZIF-8@Zn 1Àx Ni x O were characterized by XRD, SEM, FT-IR, BET, UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy and so on. The results show that Ni is well loaded in ZIF-8 and part of ZIF-8 is oxidized to form Zn 1Àx Ni x O composites. The photocatalytic performance of ZIF-8@Zn 1Àx Ni x O was evaluated by degradation of rhodamine B (RhB) solution under UV light. It was found that ZIF-8@Zn 0.95 Ni 0.05 O exhibited the highest photocatalytic degradation efficiency and can degrade 99.19% rhodamine B solution after 20 min under UV light. Furthermore, ZIF-8@Zn 0.95 Ni 0.05 O exhibits high stability. After five repeated cycles, its photocatalytic activity remains at 97.43%.Fig. 9 The schematic illustration of ZIF-8@Zn 0.95 Ni 0.05 O for degradation of RhB under UV light. 42034 | RSC Adv., 2017, 7, 42030-42035 This journal is