Determination of patulin using dual-dummy templates imprinted electrochemical sensor with PtPd decorated N-doped porous carbon for amplification

A novel dual-dummy templates imprinted electrochemical sensor has been fabricated for the detection of patulin. Herein, 2-oxindole (2-oxin) and 6-hydroxynicotinic acid (6-HNA) as the dummy templates, 4-aminothiophenol as functional monomer, and ionic liquid (IL) as electropolymerization electrolyte are employed to prepare molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) film. 2-Oxin and 6-HNA have multiple groups and the obtained MIP possesses different types of imprinted sites, thereby achieving a better recognition capacity than that of single-dummy imprinted film. ILs can regulate the density of molecularly imprinted film and facilitate effective molecular recognition. The composite of PtPd decorated N-doped porous carbon has good conductivity and large surface area, and can amplify the signal. With the aid of electrochemical probe [Fe(CN) 6 ] 3-/4- (0.16 V vs. SCE) patulin can be detected. Under the optimal conditions, this sensor shows a detection range from 0.01 to 10 μg L −1 , with a detection limit of 7.5 × 10 −3  μg L −1 ( S / N  = 3). Two spiked juice samples were analyzed by this method, and the recovery ranges from 94 to 99.8% with RSD values of 2.4–4.6% ( n  = 3), indicating that this method can be applied for the detection of patulin in real samples. Graphical abstract A novel dual-dummy templates imprinted electrochemical sensor is firstly fabricated for the detection of patulin. This sensor exhibits high recognition capacity and sensitivity.