Design and synthesis of active site rich cobalt tin sulfide nano cubes: An effective electrochemical sensing interface to monitor environmentally hazardous phenolic isomers

Abstract

In the present study, we synthesized Cobalt Tin Sulfide Nano Cubes (CoSnS2) using a simple sol–gel method, and the structural and morphological characterizations were performed to confirm the effectiveness and feasibility of the approach without any impurities. Further, to serve as an electrochemical interface for sensing dihydroxy benzene isomers (DHBIs), CoSnS2 nanoparticles were drop cast on the surface of the glassy carbon electrode (GCE). From the electrochemical characterizations, CoSnS2/GCE shows improved electrochemical performance than bare GCE, and can selectively detect DHBIs. The limits of detection (LODs) calculated for individual determination of catechol (CC) and hydroquinone (HQ) at CoSnS2/GCE was 10.21 nM (5.0–135.0 µM) and 12.56 nM (5.0–135.0 µM), respectively. Also, possible interference does notgreatly affect the analytical performance ofthe modified electrode.Overall, we investigated the simple synthesis of transitional-metal sulfides (TMSs) and their electrochemical sensing applications to chemicals that are dangerous to the environment. We anticipate that the easy approach proposed herein will be very attractive for producing and commercializingelectrochemical sensing devices in the future.