A disposable dual-signal enantioselective electrochemical sensor based on stereogenic porous chiral carbon nanotubes hydrogel

As the highest form of molecular recognition, the chiral molecular recognition is the most difficult measurements. Herein, a disposable dual-signal enantioselective platform was fabricated based on stereoscopic porous chiral carbon nanotubes hydrogel modified screen printed electrode. This kind of chiral hydrogel was prepared by a simple heating method with l - cysteine and chiral single-walled carbon nanotubes of chirality (6,5 ), and its dispersion and morphology were characterized by several techniques including scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The stereogenic chiral interface was successfully employed to discriminate mandelic acid enantiomers via both oxidation peak intensity and peak potential value of cyclic voltammetry. The chiral recognition mechanism was discussed specifically, which resulted from the formation of an efficient three-dimensional chiral nanospace. The inherent chirality of chiral carbon nanotubes hydrogel, together with their orderly spatial arrangement, can significantly improve the efficiency of chiral recognition compared with traditional electrochemical chiral sensors. As a novel chiral sensing interface, such chiral carbon nanotubes hydrogel was simple to prepare, fast to operate, with good sensitivity and excellent stability for the construction of efficient and practical electrochemical chiral sensors. We presented a new strategy to fabricate enantioselective electrochemical sensor based on stereogenic porous chiral carbon nanotubes hydrogel. • A strategy to fabricate chiral carbon nanotubes hydrogel-based electrochemical chiral sensor was presented. • The practicability of the sensor was validated by discriminating mandelic acid enantiomers. • Such chiral hydrogel has potential application in constructing simpler and more reliable chiral electrochemical sensors.