A facile one-pot strategy for the electrochemical synthesis of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)/Zirconia nanocomposite as an effective sensing platform for vitamins B 2 ,B 6 and C Tao Nie a,b , Kaixin Zhang a , Jingkun Xu a,⇑ , Limin Lu b,⇑ , Ling Bai b a Jiangxi Key Laboratory of Organic Chemistry, Jiangxi Science and Technology Normal University, Nanchang 330013, PR China b College of Science, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, PR China article info Article history: Received 3 December 2013 Received in revised form 1 January 2014 Accepted 3 January 2014 Available online 12 January 2014 Keywords: Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) Zirconia Nanocomposite Simultaneous determination Vitamin B abstract Conducting polymers have been studied extensively due to their intriguing electronic and redox proper- ties. To improve and extend their functions, the fabrication of multi-functionalized conducting polymer nanocomposites has attracted a great deal of attention. Herein, for the first time, a simple one-step elec- trodeposition method was developed for the synthesis of poly(3,4-ethylene-dioxythiophene)/Zirconia nanoparticles (PEDOT/ZrO 2 NPs) composite film on a glassy carbon electrode (GCE). Data from scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectrum, FTIR and UV/vis spectra, and various electrochemical techniques demonstrated that PEDOT/ZrO 2 NPs nanocomposite was successfully synthesized. The obtained PEDOT/ZrO 2 NPs nanocomposite film showed large specific area, high conductivity, rapid redox properties and had encapsulated structures, which make it an excellent sensing platform for sensitive determination of vitamin B 2 (VB 2 ), vitamin B 6 (VB 6 ) and vitamin C (VC). Electrochemical results obviously reveal that the catalytic peak currents of vitamins obtained at PEDOT/ZrO 2 NPs/GCE are much higher than those at PEDOT/GCE, ZrO 2 NPs/GCE and bare GCE. Using differential pulse voltammetry, detection limits of 0.012 lM, 0.20 lM and 0.45 lM were obtained for VB 2 , VB 6 and VC, respectively at PEDOT/ZrO 2 NPs/GCE. Furthermore, the modified electrode exhibited good reproducibility and long-term stability, as well as high selectivity. The facile and easy electrochemical approach used for the preparation of PEDOT/ZrO 2 NPs nanocomposite may open up new horizons in developing of cost effective electrochemical sensors. Crown Copyright Ó 2014 Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene), an electrically conducting conjugated polymer combines some very interesting properties including transparent thin films, high conductivity, large band gap width, superior biocompatability, excellent stability or optical transparency in its conducting state, as well as an environment- friendly features [1–3]. These unique characteristics make PEDOT a desirable material in a variety of applications, including solar cells [4], organic light emitting devices [5] and electrochemical sensors [6]. Recently, the developments in nano-structured con- ducting polymers and polymer nanocomposites have large impact on electro-catalysis research and sensing applications [7]. Thus considerable attention has been paid on the synthesis of PEDOT/or- ganic–inorganic nanomaterials that exhibit unique properties of both individual components in a synergistic manner. Especially, PEDOT/metal oxide nanomaterials are important in understanding the structure–activity relationships. Driven by these attractive properties, a number of researches in this field have been commit- ted to the combination of PEDOT with metal oxide nanomaterials, including ZnO nanowires [8], MnO 2 [9], and TiO 2 nanoparticles [10]. Among the metal oxide nanomaterials, ZrO 2 NPs have gained considerable attention as alternative electrode materials due to their thermal stability, chemical inertness, and lack of toxicity [11,12]. More conveniently, metallic oxide of ZrO 2 film could be prepared by electroreduction of ZrOCl 2 at bare or functionalized gold electrode surface [13,14]. For these aforementioned reasons, the combination of ZrO 2 NPs and PEDOT could increase the mechanical properties of polymer and enhance the electrical char- acteristics by facilitating the charge-transfer processes between the two components when used as electrodes for constructing of efficient electrochemical sensors. Water-soluble vitamins, VB 2 , VB 6 and VC are essential constitu- ents of food required for normal growth, self maintenance and functioning of human and animal bodies. As biologically and phar- maceutically important organic compounds, they are widely used as food additives or antioxidants for pharmaceutical purpose [15]. For example, VB 2 is a primary component of flavoenzymes 1572-6657/$ - see front matter Crown Copyright Ó 2014 Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jelechem.2014.01.006 ⇑ Corresponding authors. Tel.: +86 791 8537967; fax: +86 791 3823320. E-mail addresses: xujingkun@tsinghua.org.cn (J. Xu), lulimin816@hotmail.com (L. Lu). Journal of Electroanalytical Chemistry 717-718 (2014) 1–9 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Electroanalytical Chemistry journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jelechem