Bismuth sulfide/zinc-doped graphitic carbon nitride nanocomposite for electrochemical detection of hazardous nitric oxide

Abstract

In this study, bismuth sulfide nanorods were incorporated on the zinc-doped graphitic carbon nitride (Bi2S3/Zn-GCN) via thermal and ultrasonication treatment. The developed new electrode material was implemented for the sustainable electrochemical sensing of hazardous nitric oxide (NO). The as-prepared electrocatalyst material was scrutinized using power X-ray diffraction (PXRD), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and Raman techniques. Furthermore, the electrode kinetics were evaluated through electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), cyclic voltammetry (CV), and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) methods. Due to its unique electrocatalytic properties such as low charge transfer resistance and high electrochemically active surface area, the composite material shows excellent selectivity, stability, and reproducibility. The synergistic effect between Bi2S3 nanorods and Zn-GCN sheets (Bi2S3/Zn-GCN) can effectively accelerate electron transport, extend catalytic active sites, and leading to the remarkable electrochemical performance towards NO sensing. Therefore, the prepared GCE-modified Bi2S3/Zn-GCN exhibits a very low detection limit (LOD) towards NO of 0.007 µM (S/N = 3) with sensitivity (0.732 µA µM−1 cm−2). Moreover, the practical applicability of the proposed sensor could be a potential candidate for the determination of NO in the human blood serum, lake water, and sausage sample and the obtained results are appreciable.