Abstract
The zinc oxide (ZnO) is a highly influential material and exhibits versatile properties, which enables for various applications such as electronic, catalyst, solar cells, hydrogen fuels, and energy evolution. Although the materials exhibit versatile applications in various direction but limited studies are available to detect the sensing ability against environmental hazardous materials. The current work empathizes the application of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) as a sensor material to analyze the phenol (PhOH), which is a harmful industrial compound. The ZnO-NPs were synthesized via solution process and characterized with using XRD, SEM, FESEM, TEM, and FTIR spectroscopy. The NPs were employed as an electron moderator to sense the PhOH via electrochemical sensing process. The ZnO-NPs were pasted as a film form on specified glassy carbon electrode (GCE) to make their sensing efficiency with three electrode system. The ZnO-NPs/GCE-based electrode efficiency was evaluated with varied concentrations (7.8, 15.62, 31.25, 62.25, 250, 500, and 1000 mu M/100 mL PBS) of PhOH in PBS, whereas the effect of potentials (10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, and 100 mV) were also verified. The electrochemical impedance (EIS) was also measured and it reveals that the electron transfer rate at electrode interface. The electrode resistance charge transfer (Rct) values, which are dependent on the concentration of utilized material, is directly proportional to the PhOH concentration. These values shows that the NPs exhibit more active and catalytic properties. The electrode was also checked in terms of their stability conditions for seven consecutive cycles and also the reproducibility was investigated for first and after 30 days with same conditions.