Electroanalytical determination of vanillin using PdZn particles decorated ZnS fibers

Vanillin (VA) is a common additive used in cakes and beverages. Excessive addition of VA can cause a number of health problems. Therefore, the rapid detection of VA in food samples is well worth investigating. In this work, ZnS fibers were synthesized via simple chemical vapor deposition. The as-prepared ZnS fibers (ZnSF) were then used as substrate for PdZn nanopartciles loading. The prepared composite was characterized using SEM, XRD and EDX. The the ZnSF-PdZn composite was then used for fabrication of VA electrochemical sensor. The prepared electrochemical sensor showed an excellent sensing performance towards VA oxidation. Under the optimized condition, the ZnSF-PdZn modified glassy carbon electrode could linearly detect VA between 0.05 and 150 µM with a low detection limit of 20 nM. The proposed electrochemical sensor also been applied for VA sensing in custard, milk tea and cake.