A facile synthesis of WO3/g-C3N4 composite for chemical sensing of dopamine and hydrazine

The sensing of the bio-molecules and environmentally toxic compounds has been of interest for many years. However, the close reduction potential values, and the variety in chemical nature of compounds hinders the simultaneous and accurate determination of these potentially interesting analytes. Herein a successful fabrication of the transition metal oxide/ graphitic-carbon nitride composite having suitable band-gap formation resulting in ease in reduction of the dopamine and hydrazine at different potentials such as-0.1 V and 0.5 V vs Ag/AgCl is reported. Similarly, the composite material has been characterized by the SEM-EDX, XRD, FTIR and electro-chemical analysis. The sensor response analysis revealed that the as-prepared material has superior LOD for hydrazine (1 nM with S/N = 3) as compared to the dopamine, due to the ease of reduction of hydrazine as compared to the dopamine.

Automated summary

The sensing of bio-molecules and toxic compounds has been a long-term interest. However, the similar reduction potential values and diverse chemical nature of these analytes make the simultaneous and accurate determination challenging. In this study, a transition metal oxide/graphitic-carbon nitride composite was successfully fabricated, which exhibited suitable band-gap formation and facilitated the reduction of dopamine and hydrazine at different potentials. The characterization of the composite material was conducted by SEM-EDX, XRD, FTIR, and electro-chemical analysis. The sensor response analysis revealed that the as-prepared material showed superior LOD for hydrazine compared to dopamine.