Hierarchical 3D Snowflake-like Iron Diselenide: A Robust Electrocatalyst for Furaltadone Detection

An electrocatalyst with a large active site is critical for the development of a high-performance electrochemical sensor. This work demonstrates the fabrication of an iron diselenide (FeSe2)-modified screen-printed carbon electrode (SPCE) for the electrochemical determination of furaltadone (FLD). It has been prepared by the facile method and systematically characterized with various microscopic/spectroscopic ap-proaches. Due to advantageous physiochemical properties, the FeSe2/SPCE showed a low charge-transfer resistance value of 200 omega in 5.0 mM [Fe(CN)6]3-/4- containing 0.1 M KCl. More importantly, the FeSe2/SPCE exhibited superior catalytic performance compared to the bare SPCE for FLD sensing based on the electrochemical response in terms of a peak potential of -0.44 V (vs Ag/AgCl (sat. KCl)) and cathodic response current of -22.8 mu A. Operating at optimal conditions, the FeSe2-modified electrode showed wide linearity from 0.01 to 252.2 mu M with a limit of detection of 0.002 mu M and sensitivity of 1.15 mu A mu M-1 cm-2. The analytical performance of the FeSe2-based platform is significantly higher than many previously reported FLD electrochemical sensors. Furthermore, the FeSe2/SPCE also has a promising platform for FLD detection with high sensitivity, good selectivity, excellent stability, and robust reproducibility. Thus, the finding above shows that the FeSe2/SPCE is a highly suitable candidate for the electrochemical determination of glucose levels for real-time applications such as in human urine and river water samples.

Automated summary

An iron diselenide (FeSe2)-modified screen-printed carbon electrode (SPCE) was successfully fabricated for the electrochemical determination of furaltadone (FLD). The FeSe2/SPCE exhibited advantageous physiochemical properties and superior catalytic performance compared to the bare SPCE for FLD sensing. The FeSe2-based platform showed wide linearity, low detection limit, and high sensitivity, making it a highly suitable candidate for real-time glucose level determination.