MnCo₂O₄ nanorods-based electrochemical sensing platform for ultrasensitive detection of copper (II) ions in drinking water samples

Abstract MnCo 2 O 4 nanorods (MCO) are successfully fabricated by microwave-assisted hydrothermal method. MCO is coated on the commercial screen-printed electrode (SPE), aiming for effective detection of copper (II) ions (Cu 2+ ). The morphological and structural characteristics are investigated through x-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectra, and scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis. Besides, electrochemical properties and performance to detect Cu 2+ on the modified electrode (MCO/SPE) are studied in detail using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), cyclic voltammetry (CV), and differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry (DPASV) measurements. The results show the MCO/SPE display magnificent enhancements in dynamic linear range, sensitivity, limit of detection (LOD), selectivity, and stability. Under optimized conditions, the prepared electrochemical sensor had a linear range of 0.001–100 μM, corresponding to LOD of 0.72 nM. Notably, the achieved results point out the great potential of the developed sensor based on MnCo 2 O 4 nanorods for heavy metal ion detection.