Fabrication of mechanically alloyed high entropy alloys (20-Fe-20Cr-20Ni-20Mn-20Ti) modified carbon paste electrode sensor for the cyclic voltammetric determination of methyl orange

Abstract

We have successfully fabricated high entropy alloys (HEA) of composition 20-Fe-20Cr-20Ni-20Mn-20Ti by ball milling method for 20 h after optimizing the milling parameters. Generally, the HEAs are very popular for their multi-elemental cocktail effect and exhibit excellent high temperature oxidation resistance, high strength, electromagnetic, wear and corrosion resistance properties. But, HEAs also exhibit significant electrocatalytic properties due to their unique morphology, composition, and structure. Therefore, we have used planetary ball milled HEA powders for the electrochemical determination of methyl orange (MO). MO is recalcitrant and very difficult to degrade and can affect the humans as well as the environment. Therefore, we must determine the presence of MO. We have investigated the effect of scan rate, modifier and analyte concentration, and the pH variation on the anodic peak current (Ipa) of MO. The calculated active syrface area of bare carbon paste electrode (BCPE) and HEA-modified carbon paste electrode (HEA-MCPE) were found to be 0.041 cm2 and 0.137 cm2 respectively. We have obtained the maximum oxidation peak current for the 8 mg HEA-MCPE at a pH of 7.2 during the electrochemical oxidation of MO. The increased Ipa in basic medium is due to structural transformation of MO from quinoid form (in acidic medium) to azo structure (in basic medium). We have also calculated the number of electrons and the protons involved in the electrochemical reaction. The calculated values of detection limit (DL) and quantification limit (QL) of 8 mg HEA-MCPE was found to be 0.114 × 10−8 M and 0.38 × 10−8 M respectively.