The preparation of Fe2O3 nanoparticles by liquid phase-based ultrasonic-assisted method and its application as enzyme-free sensor for the detection of H2O2

Abstract

Iron oxide nanoparticles with high electrocatalytic activity for hydrogen peroxide were developed by liquid phase-based ultrasonic-assisted method using sodium lignosulphonate as surfactant. The influence of the different preparation conditions including addition of sodium lignosulfonate (SLS) and calcining temperature was investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) specific surface area. Then, the as-prepared Fe₂O₃ with graphene (G) was further fixed on the surface of glassy carbon electrode (GCE) using chitosan (CS) as a crosslinking agent. The electrochemical properties of the prepared G-Fe₂O₃-NPS-CS/GCE senor were estimated by cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry. Finally, the G-Fe₂O₃-NPS-CS/GCE (1.0 g SLS, calcined 400 °C) senor showed an excellent electrocatalytic activity towards hydrogen peroxide, which displayed high sensitivity (385.59 μA mM⁻¹ cm⁻²), wide detection range (0.5–7800 μM), low detection limit (0.5 μM) and a fast response time less than 2 s. Furthermore, the sensor also exhibited good anti-interference for ascorbic acid and uric acid, excellent repeatability and long-term stability. These results indicated that the G-Fe₂O₃-NPS-CS/GCE (1.0 g SLS, calcined 400 °C) senor held great potential for the detection of hydrogen peroxide.