The development of inexpensive, easy-to-produce, and easy-to-use analytical tools for detection of harmful and toxic substances is a relevant research problem with direct applications in environmental monitoring and protection. In this work, we propose a novel composite material based on alumina nanofibers and detonation nanodiamonds for detection of phenol in aqueous medium. The composite material was obtained by mixing an aqueous suspension of alumina nanofibers with a diameter of 10–15 nm and a length of several microns and a hydrosol of nanodiamonds with an average cluster size of 70 nm. The mechanisms underlying the interaction of these nanomaterials are clarified and the physicochemical properties of the composite are investigated. The SEM and TEM studies show that the obtained composite has a network structure, in which clusters of nanodiamonds (10–20 nm in diameter) are distributed over the surface of nanofibers. Coupling of nanomaterials occurs due to opposite signs of their zeta potentials, which results in electrostatic attraction and subsequent chemical bonding as indicated by the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and simultaneous thermal analysis. The bonding apparently occurs between functional groups (mainly carboxyl) on the surface of nanodiamonds and amphoteric hydroxyl groups on the surface of alumina nanofibers. The proposed composite allows an easy-to-perform colorimetric analysis for qualitative and quantitative determination of phenol in aqueous samples with linear response over a wide range of concentrations (0.5–106 μM). Multiple tests have shown that the composite is reusable and retains its catalytic function for at least 1 year during storage at room temperature.

开发用于检测有害和有毒物质的廉价、易于生产和易于使用的分析工具是一个相关的研究问题，可直接应用于环境监测和保护。在这项工作中，我们提出了一种基于氧化铝纳米纤维和爆炸纳米金刚石的新型复合材料，用于检测水性介质中的苯酚。该复合材料是通过将直径为 10-15 nm、长度为几微米的氧化铝纳米纤维的水悬浮液与平均簇大小为 70 nm 的纳米金刚石水溶胶混合而获得的。阐明了这些纳米材料相互作用的潜在机制，并研究了复合材料的物理化学性质。SEM和TEM研究表明所得复合材料具有网络结构，其中纳米金刚石簇（直径 10-20 nm）分布在纳米纤维表面。纳米材料的耦合是由于其 zeta 电位的相反符号而发生的，这导致静电吸引和随后的化学键合，如 X 射线光电子能谱和同步热分析所示。显然，纳米金刚石表面的官能团（主要是羧基）与氧化铝纳米纤维表面的两性羟基之间发生了键合。所提出的复合材料允许进行易于执行的比色分析，用于在很宽的浓度范围内（0.5-106 μM）具有线性响应的水性样品中苯酚的定性和定量测定。