Preparation and characterization of attapulgite-silver nanocomposites, and their application to the electrochemical determination of nitrobenzene

The surface of attapulgite was cleaned, modified with 3-aminpropyltriethoxysilane, and then covered with silver nanoparticles. The structure and morphology of the modified attapulgite were characterized by infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). TEM revealed that the silver nanoparticles were deposited on the surface of rod-like attapulgites. The composite material was used for electrochemical determination of nitrobenzene by taking advantage of the capability of the nanocomposites to catalyze the reduction of nitrobenzene. The relationship between peak current and the concentration of nitrobenzene is linear in the range from 3 to 30 μM, and the lowest detectable concentration is 1.1 μM.