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Engineering of CuO/ZrO2 nanocomposite-based electrochemical sensor for the selective detection of hydrogen peroxide

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Abstract

For the first time, non-enzymatic hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) electrochemical sensor based on copper oxide/zirconia nanocomposite (CuO/ZrO2 nanocomposite) has been designed and constructed. In the present study, simple hydrothermal methods were used to synthesize the materials followed by calcination process. The structural and morphological properties of the prepared nanocomposites were investigated by using various analytical and spectroscopic techniques, namely, TEM, FE-SEM-EDAX, XPS, XRD, and BET surface area. In addition, the electrochemical properties were explored by using electrochemical tool such as cyclic voltammetry and amperometric techniques. The obtained results clearly demonstrated that the prepared material hold excellent-crystallinity, well-defined honeycomb-like framework and exhibited an improved analytical performance in the form of current towards the detection of H2O2 due to the presence of ZrO2 which could prevent the agglomeration of duel oxidation state of copper oxide nanoparticles and improved the electrocatalytic performance of copper oxide. Furthermore, the ZrO2’s ionic electrical conductivity can aid faster electron transfer at the modified electrode. The proposed electrochemical sensor exhibited a wide working linear range of 50–800 µM, good sensitivity of 0.28 μAμM−1 cm−2, and lower detection limit 14.5 µM (S/N = 3). Also in the presence of biologically co-interfering compounds such as glucose, dopamine, ascorbic acid, and uric acid, the proposed sensor had an exceptional selectivity.

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Acknowledgements

Authors are grateful to Siddaganga Institute of Technology, Tumkur, for extensive support for the research. Also the authors acknowledge for providing characterization facilities at Siddaganga Institute of Technology, Tumkur, Karnataka.

Funding

This work was supported by the Department of Science and Technology through Women Scientist Scheme-A (WOS-A) Ref. No. SR/WOS-A/CS-153/2018 and F.No. DST/SSTP/Karnataka/72/2017–18,

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, Siddaganga Institute of Technology, Tumkur, 572102, India

    Manjushree S. G & Velu Udayakumar

  2. Department of Chemistry, SVM Arts, Science and Commerce College, Ilkal, 587125, India

    Prashanth S. Adarakatti & Velu Udayakumar

  3. Department of Chemistry, MVJ College of Engineering, Bangalore, 560067, India

    Velu Udayakumar

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  1. Manjushree S. G
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G, M.S., Adarakatti, P.S. & Udayakumar, V. Engineering of CuO/ZrO2 nanocomposite-based electrochemical sensor for the selective detection of hydrogen peroxide. Ionics 27, 5309–5322 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11581-021-04243-2

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