Search

In this work, in situ confinement polymerization was developed for the formation of silver nanoclusters (AgNCs) homogeneously distributed on nitrogen-doped carbon (NCS) utilizing N-vinyl functionalized imidazolium ionic liquids (ILs) as stabilizers and carbon precursors. The fabricated AgNC@NCSs exhibited excellent electrochemical and catalytic properties due to their controlled structure and morphology, the unique layered structure of the carbon carriers, and the confinement effect. The AgNC@NCS material was further fabricated for a printing electrode, which also acted as an internal reference for ratiometric and accurate detection. Nitrite was used as a target to verify the feasibility of self-calibrating detection at the AgNC@NCS printing electrode. The present electrochemical sensor demonstrated superior nitrite sensing characteristics, accompanied by a wide linear range (1.12–1400 μM), low detection limit (0.38 μM), high stability, and strong anti-interference ability. Importantly, high reliability of this self-calibrating detection was obtained for nitrate determination in food samples. Our work provides an efficient strategy for the design of self-calibrating electrodes in the area of electrochemical sensing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Homogeneous catalysts generally show higher catalytic activities, while heterogeneous catalysts are more easily separated from products. To combine the advantages of heterogeneous and homogeneous catalysts has been of great interest for many years. Here, we report a kind of facilely prepared cross-linked poly(ionic liquid)s (PILs) with swelling property to increase catalytic activities of heterogeneous catalysts. The swelling ability of PILs was greatly affected by cross-linking density and chain length of substituents on imidazolium, and the unique swelling property prompted the nonporous PILs to contact with substrates sufficiently, enhancing their catalytic activities similar to homogeneous ionic liquid monomers.