Effect of Ce doping into ZnO nanostructures to enhance the phenolic sensor performance

Abstract

Various Ce-doped ZnO nanostructures (Ce/ZnO NSs) were prepared by a facile wet chemical method using reducing agents in alkaline medium. The Ce/ZnO NSs were characterized by UV/vis, FT-IR, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (XEDS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and X-ray powder diffraction (XRD). The Ce/ZnO NSs were deposited onto flat glassy carbon electrode (GCE) with conducting Nafion binders to produce a sensor that has a fast response towards selective 3-methoxyphenol (3MP). Characteristics including higher sensitivity, lower detection limit, better reliability, good reproducibility, ease of integration, long-term stability, high selectivity, and enhanced electrochemical performance were investigated in detail at room conditions. The calibration plot is linear (r² = 0.9879) over a large concentration range (0.9 nM to 0.9 mM). The sensitivity and detection limit was calculated as ∼94.937 μA cm⁻² μM⁻¹ and 11.5 ± 0.2 pM (at a signal-to-noise-ratio [SNR] of 3), respectively. Finally, the efficiency of the proposed chemisensor can be applied and effectively utilized for the detection of various toxic chemical compounds in the environment with acceptable and reasonable results.