Decoding Proton-Coupled Electron Transfer Mechanism of Nicotine for Multi-Scenario Portable Electrochemical Sensing
Abstract
A key challenge in nicotine electroanalysis is the unresolved complexity of its interface process, which directly determines sensor metrics. We have developed a screen-printed analysis strip to elucidate potential proton-coupled electron transfer processes, while achieving multi-scenario nicotine detection (tobacco leaves, dry tobacco leaves, cigarettes, and smokers' saliva). The electrochemical characterization of elucidated the pH-dependent (pH 5-9) 2H+/2e- coupling transfer mechanism of nicotine. Density functional theory calculations revealed molecular-level insights: Electrostatic potential and Fukui function revealed the differences in electronic structure characteristics of nicotine molecule in different protonated states and their regulatory in the electrooxidation process; Quantitative characterization of spontaneous protonation thermodynamics (ΔG1 = -29.36 kcal/mol, ΔG2 = -17.68 kcal/mol) and interfacial electron transfer (0.0219 e-) provided theoretical foundations for reaction kinetics; Transition state analysis uncovered a hydroxyl-dominated multilevel synergistic electrooxidation mechanism. This integrated platform not only decodes the complex interface mechanism of nicotine but also establishes a universal research paradigm for proton-coupled systems, demonstrating successful applications from industrial quality control to biomedical monitoring.
Read the paper
Related studies
- Nano Biosensors: Properties, applications and electrochemical techniques
- Electrochemically Synthesized MIP Sensors: Applications in Healthcare Diagnostics
- Toward a Harmonization for Using in situ Nutrient Sensors in the Marine Environment
- Electrochemical determination of rutin by using NiFe2O4 nanoparticles-loaded reduced graphene oxide
- Application of Polyoxometalate-based composites for sensor systems: A review
- Sensitive Electrochemical and Thermal Detection of Human Noroviruses Using Molecularly Imprinted Polymer Nanoparticles Generated against a Viral Target
Go deeper in Evidence Hub
Evidence Hub adds a study data sheet (design, sample size, evidence level, key numbers), an AI summary and a chat grounded in the paper's text.