Electrochemical sensor based on face-centered cubic and hexagonal closed-packed AuNPs/carbon allotrope hybrid nanostructures to determine 17α-ethinylestradiol in water and urine

This work describes the synthesis, characterization, and electrochemical application of an innovative hexagonal closed-packed and cubic face-centered AuNPs/Cdots/MWCNTs hybrid nanostructure obtained by directly reducing gold citrate in an alcoholic solution of carbon dots. UV–vis spectroscopy, XRD, HR-TEM, XPS, and electrochemical techniques have been used to characterize this hybrid nanostructure. The AuNPs/Cdots/MWCNTs hybrid nanostructure has been dispersed on a carbon-screen-printed electrode surface, showing excellent electrocatalytic activity for the determination of 17α-ethinylestradiol in Britton-Robinson buffer (pH 6) by differential pulse voltammetry, with a detection limit of 67 nmol L −1 . The detection of 17α-ethinylestradiol was also performed in the presence of potential interferents, including ascorbic acid, dopamine, progesterone, and glucose, which did not significantly interfere with the determination. The detection was also performed in tap water and urine.