Electrochemical Sensor Based on Carbon-Incorporated WSe2 Nanosheets for Simultaneous Detection of Ascorbic Acid, Dopamine, and Uric Acid

Abstract

The development of sensitive and selective electrodes for electrochemical detection of ascorbic acid (AA), dopamine (DA) and uric acid (UA) is essential for early diagnosis and effective treatment. In this work, a nanocomposite of two-dimensional WSe <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub> nanosheets with carbon black (WSe <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub> @C) was prepared by facile hydrothermal method and used to modify a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) to fabricate an electrochemical sensing platform for simultaneous determination of AA, DA and UA. The as-prepared nanocomposite was characterized in terms of structural and morphological analyses through X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The electrochemical and electrocatalytic behaviors of the modified electrode (GCE-WSe <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub> @C) were investigated using cyclic voltammetry (CV) and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) techniques. The sensing performance of GCE-WSe <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub> @C electrode was tested against AA, DA and UA, resulting in enhanced electrocatalytic properties compared to GCE-WSe <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub> and GCE-C electrodes. The GCE-WSe <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub> @C electrode displayed wide linear ranges of 8.0 - <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$2456 \mu \text{M}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> for AA, 1.0 - 49.0 & 72.8 - <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$381.4 \mu \text{M}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> for DA and 1.0– 24.8 & 36.9– <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$185.2 \mu \text{M}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> for UA with low detection limits of 3.2, 0.18 and <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$0.42 \mu \text{M}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> , respectively. In addition, the developed electrode demonstrated high reproducibility and stability for electrochemical detection of AA, DA and UA.