Nicotiana genus: A green and sustainable source for designing nitrogen rich efficient carbon nanocomposites for hydrogenation of nitrophenol and non-enzymatic glucose sensing

Abstract Transition metals based nitrogen-doped carbon nanocomposites have been envisioned as a potential replacement for precious metal based nanostructures to catalyze a variety of reactions. Herein, we report the synthesis of a group of nitrogen-doped carbon nanocomposites derived from Nicotiana genus family plant, e.g. tobacco, a highly nicotine rich entity, and iron nitrate mixture followed by their exploitation for the reduction of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) and non-enzymatic electrochemical glucose sensing. The controlled study suggests that the pyrolysis of tobacco results ∼7 at.% of nitrogen doping, an important hetero atom to enhance the catalytic efficiency of nanocomposites. The kinetics of the reduction of 4-NP follow a pseudo first order reaction. The time constant is found to increase with Fe content in the composite owing to the formation of Fe-Nx centers. The separation of catalyst with the aid of a magnetic field offers a huge add-on to vouch for the recovery of these catalysts. Along with the display of appealing catalytic reduction, its application to non-enzymatic electrochemical glucose sensing is also demonstrated. Overall, Nicotiana genus can be used as nitrogen-carbon precursors for designing targeted N-doped carbon based composites that could possibly be exploited for various applications.