One-pot synthesis of silver nanoparticle catalysts supported on N-doped ordered mesoporous carbon and application in the detection of nitrobenzene

Ag nanoparticles (Ag NPs) supported on nitrogen-doped ordered mesoporous carbon (N-OMC) were fabricated by one-pot synthesis strategy, in which 2D hexagonally ordered mesoporous SBA-15 and aniline were used as template and carbon precursor, respectively. Furthermore, the as-prepared composite of Ag NPs supported on N-OMC (Ag NPs/N-OMC) as electrochemical sensor towards the reduction of nitrobenzene (NB) was investigated, which displayed high sensitivity, fast response and good stability. The peak current of NB increased linearly with the concentration of NB in the range from 6.62 × 10−8 to 2.60 × 10−7 mol/L and 7.97 × 10−7 to 1.12 × 10−6 mol/L, and the low detection limit of 6.61 × 10−9 mol/L (S/N = 3) was obtained. Therefore, this work provides a new pathway to design and fabricate novel N-OMC composites, which have unique characteristics and hold numerous applications in the fields of sensors, electrocatalysis and others.