Engineering of cubic facet ZIF-8 derivative carbon by supercritical-CO2 approach: An advanced standalone electrode modifier for the detection of toxic nitrofuran (furaltadone) in aquaculture water

Abstract

The uncontrolled discharge of toxic contaminants, like furaltadone (FTD), a nitrofuran antibiotic utilized in animal farming, embodies a grave risk to both ecology and public health. Developing sustainable methods for detecting these harmful impurities has become a key area of research. To address these challenges, we developed a sustainable zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 derivative carbon (Z8-C) employing a supercritical-CO₂ (SC-CO₂) approach (S-Z8-C) and modified onto a screen-printed carbon electrode (SPCE) to create an ultra-responsive interface for FTD detection. To gain research insights into the SC-CO₂, Z8-C was prepared using a conventional method (C-Z8-C) for comparison. The prepared materials were examined using comprehensive physicochemical characterization. These results revealed that the surface of C-Z8-C exhibits a smooth hexagonal structure, whereas S-Z8-C features a cubic facet, respectively. The SC-CO₂ process significantly influenced the nucleation dynamics and induced morphological transformation. Furthermore, the S-Z8-C/SPCE was used to evaluate its electrocatalytic behavior through voltammetry analyses. The results show a broad linear range, a low LOD of 0.6507 µM, as well as excellent sensitivity, superior selectivity, and high repeatability. Additionally, the real-time operational feasibility of the S-Z8-C/SPCE was examined by spiking FTD into aqua culture water samples, and the recovery yield was determined to be 99.71 %. From the outcomes, the sustainability of the S-Z8-C/SPCE exhibits unique properties that authenticate its efficient electrochemical sensing performance for FTD, positioning it as a viable interface for real-time implementation.