Novel Electrochemical Sensors Based on Cuprous Oxide-Electrochemically Reduced Graphene Oxide Nanocomposites Modified Electrode toward Sensitive Detection of Sunset Yellow

Control and detection of sunset yellow is an utmost demanding issue, due to the presence of potential risks for human health if excessively consumed or added. Herein, cuprous oxide-electrochemically reduced graphene nanocomposite modified glassy carbon electrode (Cu(2)O-ErGO/GCE) was developed for the determination of sunset yellow. The Cu(2)O-ErGO/GCE was fabricated by drop-casting Cu(2)O-GO dispersion on the GCE surface following a potentiostatic reduction of graphene oxide (GO). Scanning electron microscope and X-ray powder diffractometer was used to characterize the morphology and microstructure of the modification materials, such as Cu(2)O nanoparticles and Cu(2)O-ErGO nanocomposites. The electrochemical behavior of sunset yellow on the bare GCE, ErGO/GCE, and Cu(2)O-ErGO/GCE were investigated by cyclic voltammetry and second-derivative linear sweep voltammetry, respectively. The analytical parameters (including pH value, sweep rate, and accumulation parameters) were explored systematically. The results show that the anodic peak currents of Cu(2)O-ErGO /GCE are 25-fold higher than that of the bare GCE, due to the synergistic enhancement effect between Cu(2)O nanoparticles and ErGO sheets. Under the optimum detection conditions, the anodic peak currents are well linear to the concentrations of sunset yellow, ranging from 2.0 × 10(−8) mol/L to 2.0 × 10(−5) mol/L and from 2.0 × 10(−5) mol/L to 1.0 × 10(−4) mol/L with a low limit of detection (S/N = 3, 6.0 × 10(−9) mol/L). Moreover, Cu(2)O-ErGO/GCE was successfully used for the determination of sunset yellow in beverages and food with good recovery. This proposed Cu(2)O-ErGO/GCE has an attractive prospect applications on the determination of sunset yellow in diverse real samples.