Three-dimensional manganese cobaltate: a highly conductive electrocatalyst for paraoxon-ethyl detection

The synthesis of manganese cobaltate (MnCo₂O₄) with the hybrid three-dimensional architecture has been developed as an electrocatalyst for the electrochemical sensing of paraoxon-ethyl (PEL). The detailed physicochemical and structural characterization of MnCo₂O₄ is meticulously examined. The MnCo₂O₄-modified screen-printed carbon electrode (SPCE) exhibits good electrocatalytic activity for the reduction of PEL compared with the bare SPCE due to numerous unique properties. By profiting from these advantages, the proposed MnCo₂O₄/SPCE shows superior sensing performance toward the determination of PEL, including low cathodic peak potential (- 0.64 V), wide detection range (0.015-435 µM), low limit of detection (0.002 µM), high detection sensitivity (2.30 µA µM^-1 cm^-2), excellent selectivity, and good reproducibility. Notably, the electrochemical performance of the MnCo₂O₄-based electrocatalyst is superior to those previously reported in the literatures. The practical application of the MnCo₂O₄/SPCE is effectively assessed in the analysis of food and water samples with satisfied recoveries of 96.00-99.35%. The superior performance of the proposed MnCo₂O₄ electrocatalyst holds considerable potential for future development of electrochemical sensing platforms.