Facile synthesis of Co3O4/N-doped carbon nanocomposites as efficient electrode material for sensitive determination of hydrazine

Abstract

Hydrazine non-enzymatic electrochemical determination is regarded as a promising and simple approach which shows great significance in the field of environmental monitoring and medical analysis. By employment of Co3O4/N-doped carbon nanocomposites as electrochemical sensor, the goal of constructing highly sensitive non-enzymatic determination of hydrazine in low concentration level can be achieved. In this work, chitosan is utilized as the nitrogen and carbon source to prepare Co3O4/N-doped carbon nanocomposites via a precipitation method and subsequent thermal treatment. The chemical composition and morphology of Co3O4/N-doped carbon are explored via Raman spectroscopy, XPS, XRD, FESEM and HRTEM. The electrochemical performances of Co3O4/N-doped carbon modified electrode towards hydrazine detection are studied via cyclic voltammetry and amperometry techniques. The fabricated Co3O4/N-doped carbon based sensor exhibited a rather wide linear range from 0.50 to 977.40 μM, an excellent sensitivity of 56.63 μA mM−1 and a very low detection limit of 0.11 μM (S/N = 3). The fabricated sensor also possessed good repeatability, reproducibility, electivity, as well as pretty good stability.