Defect-rich hexagonal boron nitride for the simultaneous determination of 4-aminophenol and phenol

Recent advances in 2D hexagonal boron nitride (2D-hBN) applied as the basis of electrochemical sensing platforms

“…Generally, authors fail to show data of the various ratios of the components comprising the nanocomposite upon the electrochemical/ electroanalytical response demonstrating how they chose their final composition. Shen et al have utilised defect-enhanced h-BN (termed (D-h-BN) on a GCE as a sensing platform for the detection of 4-aminophenol (4-AP) and phenol (Ph) [60] and lead [70]. They report the synthesis of defective h-BN via a single precursor calcination process.…”

“…The choice of electrode gives the impression that the h-BN whiskers give rise to outstanding electrochemical signatures, even electrocatalytic, one might suggest. That said, nitrite can be readily electrochemically oxidised using a range of carbon electrodes [71][72][73][74][75] [60] with permission from Elsevier electrochemical response of the h-BN whiskers to other carbon-based electrodes under the same employed experimental parameters to demonstrate that they exhibit a large electrochemically area, as stated by the authors [61]. Additionally, it would have been insightful to explore different coverages to try and optimise the electroanalytical outputs; that said, the sensor was shown to allow the determination of nitrite at various concentrations within tap water [61].…”

“…Shen et al have utilised defect-enhanced h-BN (termed (D-h-BN) on a GCE as a sensing platform for the detection of 4-aminophenol (4-AP) and phenol (Ph) [ 60 ] and lead [ 70 ]. They report the synthesis of defective h-BN via a single precursor calcination process.…”

“…4 , defective h-BN exhibits the presence of pore holes within the basal plane of the typical laminar structure of 2D-hBN. These defects/holes are reported to be chemically active and provide electrochemical active sites via defect-related sub-levels in the band gap [ 60 ]. In both cases, the improved electrochemical response was compared to a bare GCE, which demonstrated the D-h-BN to give to superior electroanalytical signatures, attributed by the authors to be due to the material exhibiting fast electron transfer, large electrochemical active surface area and abundant electroactive sites, which were induced by the defective nature of the D-h-BN structure.…”

“…4 TEM image of defect-enhanced h-BN (d-h-BN) ( a ), simultaneous calibration plot (DPV) of 4-AP and Ph using d-h-BN/GCE ( b ) and electrochemical impedance spectra of d-h-BN/GCE ( c ). Reprinted from [ 60 ] with permission from Elsevier …”