Fabrication of β-Cyclodextrin-Functionalized Reduced Graphene Oxide and Its Application for Electrocatalytic Detection of Carbendazim

We reported a graphene-based electrochemical sensor for sensitively measuring carbendazim, which is one of the effective benzimidazole fungicides popularly used in agriculture. The beta-cyclodextrin-functionalized reduced graphene oxide (beta-CD-RGO) nanocomposites were synthesized using hydrazine as the reducing agent at room temperature. The as-synthesized nanocomposites were characterized using different analytical methods including UV-visible spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The nanocomposites with a combination of physicochemical properties of RGO and high molecular recognition capability of beta-CD were used to modify the surface of a glassy carbon electrode for the electrochemical determination of the drug carbendazim using cyclic voltammetry and differential pulse voltammetry. The current responses of carbendazim on the beta-CD-RGO-modified electrode were greatly enhanced compared to that on the bare electrode due to the electrocatalytic effect of beta-CD-RGO. It was found that the peak currents increased linearly with the carbendazim concentration in the range between 0.1 and 40 mu M. The obtained results suggest that beta-CD-RGO composite could be a potential candidate for the preparation of effective electrochemical sensors for carbendazim or similar drugs in the future.