Scientists from the Gdańsk University of Technology have turned Chinese cabbage into a material for sensors

Scientists from the Gdańsk University of Technology and the Institute of Fluid-Flow Machinery of the Polish Academy of Sciences have processed Chinese cabbage leaves into a material that can be used in sensors not only for food applications, but also for medical and environmental purposes, the Gdańsk university reported.

Based on the pyrolysis process, scientists have attempted the so-called upcycling of Chinese cabbage, i.e. processing it into a material of greater value - the press office of the Gdańsk University of Technology informed on Thursday. The authors of the experiment are members of the inter-faculty scientific group RedOX from the Gdańsk University of Technology under the supervision of prof. Katarzyna Siuzdak (IMP PAN), prof. Andrzej Nowak (PG) and prof. Jacek Ryla (PG).

The research focused on the use of cabbage leaves enriched with copper as an organic waste for the production of activated carbon, which is used to detect ascorbic acid (vitamin C) - explained Dr. Eng. Wiktoria Lipińska from IMP PAN, a graduate of first and second cycle studies at the Gdańsk University of Technology, quoted in a release sent to PAP.

"We have demonstrated that organic waste, after appropriate processing, can be used to produce electrode materials used in sensors," Lipińska said.

Angelika Łepek, a PhD student at the Doctoral School at the Gdańsk University of Technology (Faculty of Technical Physics and Applied Mathematics), described what the research process looked like.

"First, we cut cabbage leaves into pieces and immersed them in copper salts of various concentrations. Then, we subjected them to pyrolysis in a neutral atmosphere and obtained a powder of carbon and copper, which we used to modify a glass carbon electrode. In the next stage, we tested its electrochemical properties in terms of detecting vitamin C, which we added to the electrolyte in a controlled manner," says Angelika Łepek.

According to Eng. Stefania Wolff, a PhD student at the Gdańsk University of Technology Doctoral School (WFTiMS) and IMP PAN, the team proved that the material produced from cabbage waste can be useful in sensors for food applications, i.e. for determining the concentration of vitamin C in fruit juice.

The results of the research, financed by the TECHNETIUM program, were described in the article "Catalytic properties of copperions enriched cabbage-based carbon materials towards ascorbic acid detection" in the high-scoring (200 points) journal Sustainable Materials and Technologies and resulted in a patent application.

The research team included members of the RedOX Research Group: PhD Eng Wiktoria Lipińska (IMP PAN, graduate of PG, first author of the article), Angelika Łepek (WFTiMS PG), BSc Stefania Wolff (WFTiMS PG and IMP PAN), as well as Prof. Jacek Ryl (WFTiMS PG), PhD DSc Eng Andrzej Nowak, Prof. PG (WChem PG) and PhD DSc Eng Katarzyna Siuzdak, Prof. IMP PAN (IMP PAN, mentor of the RedOx Research Group, project manager).

The RedOX PG Scientific Circle, which has been operating for two years, is the first scientific circle in Poland affiliated with The Electrochemical Society. It is an initiative of students and PhD students interested in electrochemistry, photochemistry, catalysis and related issues. The circle's goal is to develop knowledge and skills in the field of electrochemistry, as well as to conduct basic and implementation research. RedOX members are involved in, among other things, the development of various 3D printing technologies in electrochemistry. (PAP)

Science in Poland

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