Biogenic synthesis of CuO/ZnO nanocomposite from Bauhinia variegate flower extract for highly sensitive electrochemical detection of vitamin B2

Abstract

In this study, we report the preparation of bio-inspired binary CuO/ZnO nanocomposite (bb-CuO/ZnO nanocomposite) via the biological route using Bauhinia variegata flower extract following hydrothermal treatment. The prepared bb-CuO/ZnO nanocomposite was electrophoretically deposited (EPD) on indium tin oxide (ITO) substrate to develop bb-CuO/ZnO/ITO biosensing electrode which is employed for the determination of vitamin B2 (Riboflavin) through electrochemical techniques. Physicochemical assets of the prepared bb-CuO/ZnO nanocomposite have been extensively evaluated and make use of different characterization techniques including powder XRD, FT-IR, AFM, SEM, TEM, EDX, XPS, Raman, and TGA. Electrochemical characteristics of the bb-CuO/ZnO/ITO biosensing electrode have been studied towards vitamin B2 determination. Furthermore, different biosensing parameters such as response time, reusability, stability, interference, and real sample analysis were also estimated. From the linear plot of scan rate, charge transfer rate constant (Ks), surface concentration of electrode (γ), and diffusion coefficient (D) have been calculated, and these are found to be 6.56 × 10−1 s−1, 1.21 × 10−7 mol cm−2, and 6.99 × 10−3 cm2 s−1, respectively. This biosensor exhibits the linear range of vitamin B2 detection from 1 to 40 μM, including sensitivity and limit of detection (LOD) of 1.37 × 10−3 mA/μM cm2 and 0.254 μM, respectively. For higher concentration range detection linearity is 50–100 μM, with sensitivity and the LOD of 1.26 × 10−3 mA/μM cm2 and 0.145 μM, respectively. The results indicate that the bio-inspired nanomaterials are promising sustainable biosensing platforms for various food and health-based biosensing devices.