Mechanochemical synthesis of nanocrystalline Tellurides applied as electrochemical sensors

Full text: Electroanalytical methods have been developed to simplify the quantification of many different analytes as an alternative to those based on optical properties and chromatography. Recently, we report on a novel electrochemical sensor based on carbon paste electrodes (CPE)/Ni3-xTe2 for the simultaneous detection of the neurotransmitters dopamine (DA) and adrenaline (AD) in phosphate buffer solution (pH 7.0). It represents a promising electrochemical platform for DA and AD quantification in various kinds of matrices, with preparation and operation routes totally based on green chemistry principles. Another proposed sensor CPE/NiTe2 was successfully applied to morin determination in high, medium, and low polyphenols content red wines such as Tannat, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Pinot Noir. All the Nickel Telluride composites were produced by ball milling in just a few hours and carefully characterized by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and magnetometry techniques. The nanometric character of the crystals was confirmed by XRD-Rietveld and TEM analysis. The average volume-weighted crystallite sizes found for Ni3-xTe2 was 10 nm and 4 nm for Ni, in the sensor CPE/Ni3-xTe2, and 18 nm for trigonal NiTe2 present in the CPE/NiTe2. Our aim with this presentation is to expose our recent multidisciplinary work and to have some feedback from the audience to better understand how to usufruct some incredible scientific opportunities offered by the X-ray nanoprobes at Sirius-CNPEM. By the time, we are thinking to overpass the experimental challenges to describe more precisely our nanocrystalline alloys and, who knows, in the future, to perform in-operando X-ray computed tomography of our electrochemical sensors. (author)