Fabrication of p-n Junction (Ni/Zn)O and Reduced Graphene Oxide (rGO) Nanocomposites for the Electrocatalysis of Analgesic Drug (Acetaminophen) Detection in Pharmaceutical and Biological Samples

Abstract

The p-n junction (Ni/Zn)O and its reduced graphene oxide nanocomposites ((Ni/Zn)O@rGO) has been synthesized through the hydrothermal method and used for effective electrochemical determination analgesic drug acetaminophen (AAP). In addition, the XRD characteristic peak and Raman modes confirm the formation of a p-n junction (Ni/Zn)O@rGO nanocomposites. The morphology of the as-prepared nanocomposites exposes nano-sized spherical particles that were well decorated on the rGO sheets, which results in a larger surface area. Further, the incorporation rGO and (Ni/Zn)O induced the catalytic properties and electrochemical performance. The electrochemical characterization of AAP was investigated at ((Ni/Zn)O@rGO/GCE) glass carbon electrode and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) were adopted for the quantitative analysis of AAP. As a result, the prepared nanocomposite possessed great sensitivity, selectivity and stability. Further, the prepared sensor shows the wider linear range of 0.009–0.096 μM and 0.096–413 μM with a very low detection limit of 2.2 nM. Moreover, the practical applicability of the prepared sensor was tested in the pharmaceutical and human urine samples. Also, the developed method would widen the application of nanocomposites materials in the fabrications of more novel electrochemical sensing platforms.