A highly sensitive electrochemical sensor based on Cu/Cu2O@carbon nanocomposite structures for hydrazine detection

Abstract

We report a simple and large-scale fabrication of carbon-coated Cu/Cu₂O nanocomposite materials (Cu/Cu₂O@carbon) and their application as sensing materials for hydrazine detection in a neutral medium. The Cu/Cu₂O@carbon nanocomposite structures were successfully synthesized using a facile, cost-effective calcination method. The morphology, crystalline structure, and composition of the prepared Cu/Cu₂O@carbon were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, energy dispersive spectroscopy and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. The hydrazine electrochemical sensor was fabricated by painting Cu/Cu₂O@carbon on a glassy carbon electrode and immobilized using Nafion. By optimizing the Cu/Cu₂O@carbon modified quantity and evaluating the performance using cyclic voltammetry and amperometry techniques, we demonstrated an optimal hydrazine electrochemical sensor with a high sensitivity of 2.37 μA μM⁻¹ cm⁻², an excellent linear concentration range of 0.25 μM to 800 μM, and a low detection limit of 0.022 μM.