Molten‐Salt‐Assisted Synthesis of Carbon‐Doped BN Nanosheets for the Sensitive Detection of Paracetamol

Abstract

High‐performance sensors are in constant demand for health care and environmental protection. In this study, a sensitive paracetamol (PCM) sensor was designed by modifying glassy carbon electrode (GCE) with carbon‐doped boron nitride (BCN/GCE) nanosheets. The BCN nanosheets were synthesized using a molten‐salt method, which ensured the uniformity of size distribution. X‐ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy results suggested that the carbon‐doping hardly changed the crystal structure and morphology of hexagonal boron nitride (HBN). However, the carbon‐doping can reduce the bandgap, increase the specific surface area and improve the electrical conductivity, which is attributed to the formation of abundant point defects in the BN crystal. These point defects modulate electronic structure and surface activity, and further improve the electrocatalytic properties of BN. The BCN nanosheets exhibited outstanding electrocatalytic activity in the oxidation of paracetamol (PCM). With the help of square wave voltammetry (SWV) method, the BCN/GCE demonstrated linear current response towards PCM covering the concentrations of 0.05–70 μM and 70–200 μM with a detection limit (LOD) of 0.0086 μM. The developed method also showed excellent selectivity and high stability. In addition, the BCN/GCE sensor worked well when it was applied to quantify PCM in actual samples.