One-step solvothermal synthesis of nanoflake-nanorod WS2 hybrid for non enzymatic detection of uric acid and quercetin in blood serum

Herein, we report a novel, one-step solvothermal assisted thermal decomposition synthesis of nanoflake-nanorod tungsten disulphide (WS2) nanomaterial and its application for non-enzymatic electrochemical sensing of uric acid (UA) and quercetin. The as-synthesised WS2 was characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectrometer, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). SEM analysis revealed the growth of 2D-1D nanoflake-nanorod hybrid nanostructure of 2H phase WS2 with greater defects and metal edges. Under optimized conditions, the WS2 modified glassy carbon electrode (WS2/GCE) facilitated the effective sensing of UA and quercetin which was measured using differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) technique. The sensor exhibited a low limit of detection (LoD) of 1.2 mu M, the sensitivity of 312 nA/mu M.cm(2) for the dynamic range from 5 mu M to 1 mM towards UA while an even lower of 2.4 nM and sensitivity of 258 nA/nM cm(2) in the dynamic range of 10 nM-50 mu M for quercetin. The enhanced sensing ability of the sensor attributed towards the synergetic effect of 2D-1D hybrid structure of WS2, wherein the 2D nanoflakes enhance the electrocatalytic property of WS2 with shorter diffusion length and 1D nanorods offer large surface area which provides greater number of active sites for sensing. Further, the sensor showed a remarkable selectivity towards UA and quercetin in the presence of ascorbic acid (AA), dopamine (DA), sodium (Na+), chloride (Cl-), calcium (Ca2+) and glucose. The sensor was further employed in successful detection of UA and quercetin in the simulated blood serum sample with excellent recovery percentages. The proposed synthesis route can be used to develop WS2 based electrochemical sensing platforms useful for various bioanalytical applications.