Fabrication of an ultra-sensitive hydrazine sensor based on nano-chips shaped nickel hydroxide modified electrodes

Abstract

To exploit the possibilities provided by the nanostructure morphology of nano-materials in sensing applications, we synthesized nano-chips shaped nickel hydroxide (Ni(OH)2) nanostructures using hydrothermal method. The nano-chips shaped Ni(OH)2 nanostructure were further utilized to modify the gold working electrode (gold sputtered on glass substrate) to fabricate the hydrazine sensor. The fabricated hydrazine sensor was used for the highly sensitive detection of hydrazine in a water solution. The hydrazine sensor displayed ultra-high sensitivity (1861.25 µA/µM/cm2), a linear response in the concentration range of 0–120 nM, and a lower detection limit (10 nM) during hydrazine sensing. The obtained sensitivity is comparatively higher than any previously reported values. Other features of fabricated hydrazine sensor include a highly reproducible fabrication process, stability, and selectivity. Conceivably, these nano-chips shaped Ni(OH)2 nanostructure hold significant potential for the future applications in nano-material-based chemical/biological sensors.