Carbon black co-adsorbed ZnO nanocomposites for selective benzaldehyde sensor development by electrochemical approach for environmental safety

Abstract

The nanocomposites (NCs) of carbon black (CB) co-adsorbed ZnO nanomaterials were synthesized by facile wet-chemical process at low temperature. The prepared NCs were characterized by UV/vis, EDS, TEM, FTIR, EIS, XPS, and powder XRD. In this research approach, a newly developed benzaldehyde (BZH) chemical sensor with active ZnO/CB is studied by electrochemical method. A uniform thin layer of ZnO/CB NCs was deposited on a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) with conducting binder to result the working electrode for BZH chemical sensor. The proposed chemical sensor is displays good selectivity with lower detection limit, long-term stability and enhanced electrochemical responses. The calibration plot is found to be linear over the concentration (LDR) range of 0.1nM–0.1mM. The sensitivity (5.0633μAμM−1cm−2) and detection limit (18.75±0.94pM) of projected BZH chemical sensor were estimated from the slope of calibration plot. Based on sensing performance of ZnO/CB NCs/binder/GCE, this chemical sensor is introduced a well-organized route of efficient detection of hazardous and carcinogenic chemicals to safe the environmental and healthcare sectors in broad scales.