Hierarchical ZnO micro/nanoarchitectures: hydrothermal preparation, characterization and application in the detection ofhydrazine

Abstract

In the present work, we report the successful preparation of hierarchical ZnO micro/nanoarchitectures in one step by a simple hydrothermal route, using Zn(CH₃COO)₂·2H₂O, hexamethylenetetramine (HMT) and NH₃·H₂O (5%) as the starting materials. The product was characterized by means of powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and field emission scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The experiments showed that the morphology of ZnO could be controlled by the volume of NH₃·H₂O (5%). Using the hierarchical ZnO micro/nanoarchitecture, a simple amperometric sensor for the detection of hydrazine was fabricated. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) revealed that the hierarchical ZnO micro/nanoarchitecture exhibited a higher catalytic effect on hydrazine than normal, flower-like ZnO microstructures. The amperometric sensor was used in the detection of hydrazine with a detection limit of 0.25 μM over a wide linear detection range up to 200 μM, and with a high sensitivity of −15.86 μA mM⁻¹, which is better than for other reported amperometric hydrazine sensors.