Carbon black co-adsorbed ZnO nanocomposites for selective benzaldehyde sensor development by electrochemical approach for environmental safety

The nanocomposites (NCs) of carbon black (CB) co-adsorbed ZnO nanomaterials were synthesized by facile wet-chemical process at low temperature. The prepared NCs were characterized by UV/vis, EDS, TEM, FTIR, EIS, XPS, and powder XRD. In this research approach, a newly developed benzaldehyde (BZH) chemical sensor with active ZnO/CB is studied by electrochemical method. A uniform thin layer of ZnO/CB NCs was deposited on a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) with conducting binder to result the working electrode for BZH chemical sensor. The proposed chemical sensor is displays good selectivity with lower detection limit, long-term stability and enhanced electrochemical responses. The calibration plot is found to be linear over the concentration (LDR) range of 0.1 nM-0.1 mM. The sensitivity (5.0633 mu A mu M-1 cm(-2)) and detection limit (18.75 +/- 0.94 pM) of projected BZH chemical sensor were estimated from the slope of calibration plot. Based on sensing performance of ZnO/CB NCs/binder/GCE, this chemical sensor is introduced a well-organized route of efficient detection of hazardous and carcinogenic chemicals to safe the environmental and healthcare sectors in broad scales. (C) 2018 The Korean Society of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.