Facile synthesis of Vulcan XC-72 nanoparticles-decorated halloysite nanotubes for the highly sensitive electrochemical determination of niclosamide

We report a scalable and controllable ultrasound-assisted strategy for the preparation of Vulcan XC-72 nanoparticles-decorated halloysite nanotubes (HNTs@VXC-72), which was applied to modify glassy carbon electrode (GCE) for the highly sensitive electrochemical determination of niclosamide (NA). For the HNTs@VXC-72 nanocomposite, VXC-72 nanoparticles with excellent electrical conductivity and good dispersing property contributed to the formation of the interconnected conductive network; HNTs possessed good adsorption performance and promoted the electrochemical redox reaction. The research results showed that the combination of VXC-72 nanoparticles and HNTs produced the effect of synergistic enhancement. The HNTs@VXC-72/GCE sensor could show a relatively low detection limit of 3.28 nM in the great linear NA concentration range of 0.01-1 mu M. When used for the NA determination in food samples, the HNTs@VXC-72/GCE sensor exhibited good practical feasibility with low RSD and acceptable recoveries, which provided a promising NA determination approach to ensure food safety.

Automated summary

A scalable and controllable ultrasound-assisted strategy was reported for the preparation of Vulcan XC-72 nanoparticles-decorated halloysite nanotubes (HNTs@VXC-72) to modify glassy carbon electrode for the highly sensitive electrochemical determination of niclosamide. The combination of VXC-72 nanoparticles and HNTs produced a synergistic enhancement effect in the sensor, showing a relatively low detection limit and good linear range for NA determination. The sensor also exhibited good practical feasibility in food samples analysis, promising a new approach for ensuring food safety through NA determination.