Dual electrochemical application of r-GO wrapped ZnWO4/Sb nanocomposite

Abstract

ZnWO4/Sb nanorods and r-GO-ZnWO4/Sb nanocomposite have been prepared using a single step solvothermal method. The prepared nanocomposites have been characterized using x-ray diffractometer (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscope (HR-TEM), Raman and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET). The x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) technique was used to determine the elemental composition of ZWS-5 (5 mg r-GO-ZnWO4/Sb) composite. The XRD reveals the monoclinic wolframite structure of ZnWO4/Sb and r-GO-ZnWO4/Sb. SEM and HRTEM confirms that the ZnWO4/Sb has been decorated on the r-GO sheets. The electrochemical performance of the prepared samples towards the Hydrogen Evolution Reaction (HER) and dopamine sensing has been tested using electrochemical techniques. Onset potential of 265 mV @10 mA cm−2, lower Tafel slope (95 mV dec−1), high electrochemical surface area (1383.216 m2 g−1) and high specific site density (18.551 06 × 1021 g−1) of ZWS-5 reveals the high electrocatalytic activity of the composite towards HER. Chronoamperometric dopamine sensing shows that ZWS-5 has the superior sensing performance with highest specific sensitivity (723 μA μM−1 μg−1), lowest limit of detection (0.9624 μM), along with a good selectivity. Results suggest that the r-GO-ZnWO4/Sb nanocomposite is a good candidate for the HER and electrochemical dopamine sensor. The incorporation of r-GO nanosheets with ZnWO4/Sb (ZWS) nanorods enhances the specific and electrochemical surface area, which accounts for the high electrocatalytic activity of the composite.