Rapid synthesis of hollow Ni(OH)2 with low-crystallinity for the electrochemical detection of ascorbic acid with high sensitivity

Abstract

In this work, hollow Ni(OH)₂ with low crystallinity was rapidly synthesized based on Cu₂O template, which had a small particle size and high reaction activity. The resultant products were characterized by X-ray diffraction, field-emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and Raman spectroscopy. Results showed that Cu₂O had a small particle size, and could shorten the reaction time for preparing hollow Ni(OH)₂. Then, Ni(OH)₂ was used to modify a glassy carbon electrode and found to perform well in ascorbic acid detection, with a linear range of 10 μM to 0.20 mM and the detection limit of 3 μM (S/N = 3). The sensitivity was 1747.71 μA mM⁻¹ cm⁻², which was due to the hollow Ni(OH)₂ with low crystallinity.