CoFe2O4 supported g-C3N4 nanocomposite for the sensitive electrochemical detection of dopamine

Abstract

The quantification of the neurotransmitter dopamine in human biological samples has gained in importance. A good antifouling and highly selective electrode material is still in high demand. So, to resolve these issues we fabricated a dopamine (DA) electrochemical sensor based on cobalt ferrite (CoFe₂O₄) capped on graphitic carbon nitride (g-CN) using the dual-template method. The fabricated CoFe₂O₄@g-CN exhibited spherical-like CoFe₂O₄ decorated on sheet-like g-CN. These structures showed high electrochemical conductivity with a superior synergetic effect that facilitates a greater number of active sites, and rapid ion/electron mobility. Owing to these reasons, the fabricated CoFe₂O₄@g-CN modified electrode depicts a lower R_ct value, which specifies a high electrochemical conductivity. Furthermore, the CoFe₂O₄@g-CN modified electrode shows a wide linear detection range (0.001–32.18 and 38.43–102.18 μM), a low detection limit (0.12 and 5.8 nM), and good selectivity. Also, the fabricated electrode displays appreciable stability, repeatability, and reproducibility. The CoFe₂O₄@g-CN modified electrode has been applied for the real-time detection of DA in human biological samples with appreciable recovery results. Our developed method will be a promising platform for the electrochemical determination of DA in biological samples.