Selective capturing of phenolic derivative by a binary metal oxide microcubes for its detection

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Materials Science
• Electrochemistry

Background:

• Toxic p-nitrophenol poses a significant threat to ecological and environmental health.
• Sensitive and selective detection methods are crucial for monitoring hazardous species.
• Developing efficient materials for detecting pollutants is an ongoing challenge.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a highly efficient and selective binary material for the electrochemical detection of p-nitrophenol.
• To fabricate a sensitive sensor for detecting toxic p-nitrophenol in environmental samples.
• To investigate the electrochemical performance of SnO2/CdO microcubes for pollutant sensing.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of SnO2/CdO microcubes (MCs) using a facile hydrothermal technique.
• Immobilization of SnO2/CdO MCs onto a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) using conducting binders.
• Morphological, structural, optical, and elemental characterization using FTIR, UV/vis, FESEM, XPS, TEM, EDS, and powder XRD.
• Electrochemical performance evaluation for p-nitrophenol detection.

Main Results:

• The fabricated SnO2/CdO MCs/GCE exhibited excellent linearity, stability, and reproducibility.
• Achieved a low detection limit of 0.13 pM and a limit of quantification of 0.43 pM.
• Demonstrated high sensitivity (7.12 µAµM⁻¹cm⁻²) and a large dynamic range (1.0 to 0.01 mM) for p-nitrophenol detection.

Conclusions:

• SnO2/CdO MCs serve as an efficient electron mediator for sensitive p-nitrophenol detection.
• The developed binary material offers a potential and stable electrochemical sensor for ultra-trace p-nitrophenol capture.
• This sensor shows promise for sensitive detection of toxic p-nitrophenol in real environmental samples.