Molten salt synthesis of BCNO nanosheets for the electrochemical detection of clenbuterol

A new strategy was demonstrated for the electrochemical detection of clenbuterol using boron carbon oxynitride (BCNO) nanosheets as a sensing medium. BCNO was prepared via a molten salt process and structurally characterized. The experimental results, including XRD, FTIR, XPS, TEM and AFM, suggested that the as-prepared sample is crystalline BCNO with a nanosheet-like structure. After modification on a glassy carbon electrode (GCE), BCNO can significantly improve the electron transport capacity and provide more electrochemically active sites. Interestingly, BCNO-modified GCE (BCNO/GCE) possesses good capability for electrocatalytic oxidation of clenbuterol and thus produces noticeable electrochemical signals. By using the differential pulse stripping voltammetry (DPSV) method, the BCNO/GCE exhibited superior analytical performance in the detection of clenbuterol. The sensor has a low detection limit of 17 nM, and its linear concentration ranges are 0.03–2.0 and 2.0–16.0 μM, respectively. In addition, the clenbuterol sensor displayed good anti-interference ability, high reproducibility and adequate stability. Finally, the proposed method was applied to measure clenbuterol in pig serum and drug tablets, and satisfactory recoveries were achieved. The research results suggested that BCNO nanostructures should be promising candidates for the fabrication of electrochemical sensors.