High performance electrochemical analysis of water pollutant: Catechol utilizing mesoporous Fe2O3/NiO/CuO composite modified glassy carbon electrode

The novel composite constituting Fe 2 O 3 /NiO/CuO is synthesised via facile hydrothermal method followed by annealing under atmospheric air. The annealing is believed to impart the mesoporous texture to the material and this considerably enhanced the electrochemical output of the system developed towards catechol quantification. When the synthesised material is utilized to modify the surface of glassy carbon electrode (GCE), sensor exhibited excellent linear range for catechol detection from 0.8 to 8296.0 μM with limit of detection (LOD) as 0.005 μM. This is the inaugural use of the current metal oxide composite for the electrochemical measurement of catechol, yielding superior results. The sensor exhibited exceptional resistance to interference from other possible entities by solely detecting catechol. The repeatability and reproducibility evaluation of the sensor also displayed remarkable RSD values indicating the high efficiency of the unique sensor. The real sample studies of the sensor executed in tap water, lake water and waste water from chemical industry and it exhibited very impressive rates of recovery with the samples highlighting practical usefulness of this novel sensor. Electrochemical quantification of Catechol. • Innovative, low temperature, synthesis method introduced for the formation of multi-metal oxide composite. • The composite Fe 2 O 3 /NiO/CuO produced, employed as the surface modifier for the working electrode and fabricated novel electrochemical sensor. • Electrochemical determination of toxic water pollutant, catechol using the mesoporous composite structure yielded exceptional electrochemical properties. • The linear range obtained for the electrochemical detection of catechol in the present study is superior than reported by any other electrochemical sensor.