A grain-like cerium oxide nanostructure: synthesis and uric acid sensing application

Abstract

Utilizing nanomaterials on the working electrode of sensors enables the fabrication of highly sensitive devices for the detection of various analytes. Herein, a facile synthesis method is used to formulate a grain-like cerium oxide (CeO₂) nanostructure. The structural features and surface properties of the synthesized CeO₂ nanostructure were studied, which showed that the CeO₂ nanostructure exhibited grain-like morphology, good crystalline structure, and excellent vibrational properties. To evaluate the sensing properties of grain-like CeO₂ nanostructure, nanomaterial slurry was prepared in butyldiglycol acetate binder. Then, the nanomaterial slurry was drop-casted onto the working electrode of the screen-printed carbon electrode (SPCE) to fabricate the CeO₂-modified SPCE sensor. The sensor's electrochemical properties were analysed, which showed excellent charge-transfer behavior compared to the bare SPCE. CV-based electrochemical sensing of uric acid (UA) on a CeO₂-modified SPCE sensor exhibited excellent linear performance up to 1070 μM UA. Moreover, the sensor offers good sensitivity, low detection limit, reproducibility, selectivity, and long-term stability. The CeO₂-modified SPCE sensor demonstrated a promising application for UA detection in real samples, addressing the need for timely UA concentration monitoring.