Activated porous hard carbon electrode for the sensitive electrochemical detection of clenbuterol

As the illegal use of clenbuterol (CLB) in animal husbandry introduced various diseases, the accurate and convenient methods for CLB detection is imperative to be developed. Because of the electrochemical activity of CLB, electrochemical strategies have been proved to be capable to achieve its detection. To improve the microenvironment of the electrode surface to enhance the response, the sensing materials with superior performance still need to be developed. In this work, a kind of environmentally friendly porous hard carbon (PHC) derived from the waste of coffee bean has been prepared to be utilized for the conveniently detection of CLB. Characterizations reveal the porous structure and lattice disorderliness of PHC. PHC demonstrates highly active surface, good conductivity and excellent chemical stability during the electrochemical tests. CLB produces obvious anodic peak on PHC modified glassy carbon electrode (PHC/GCE). The KOH/H 2 O 2 activated PHC/GCE (b-PHC/GCE) achieves a prominently enhanced peak current, which is about 2.5-fold of that recorded by PHC/GCE. The linear dynamic obtained by SWV and DPV is 50 nM-7.0 μM, the LODs (3σ/s) are 10.2 nM and 8.8 nM, respectively. CLB in meat samples cannot be found, the recoveries are in the range of 88.8% ~ 98.7% and the RSD is 5.09%. The accuracy of the results can be verified by LC-MS/MS. The PHC demonstrates its advantages of low-cost, environmentally friendly and superior sensing performance. The activation of the sensor is facile and fast, and the obtained b-PHC/GCE is reliable in practical use, which achieves the rapid monitoring of the forbidden of harmful additives.