ELECTROCHEMICAL SENSING OF H2 O2 BY HYDROTHERMALLY SYNTHESIZED PURE COPPER OXIDE MATERIALS

Abstract

We report the variations in structural and morphological properties of hydrothermally synthesized pure CuO materials,prepared by employing three different stochiometric concentrations of reagents (details given in experimental section), followed by autoclaving at different temperatures e. g. 160oC and 180oC for 6 hours. X-ray diffraction (XRD) revealed the presence of single (monoclinic: CuO) and mixed (monoclinic as well as cubic Cu2O) phases of copper oxide and cupric oxide respectively. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) images reveal irregular distribution of particles having non-uniform grain shapes of all prepared materials except for the one having pure monoclinic structure. Most of the materials had comparable morphologies whereby sharp edges and flat surfaces of particle were observed. The particle size was ranging between 2µm to 4µm. One of the samples (having pure monoclinic structure) was further characterized for dc-electrical conductivity followed by electrochemical detection of H2O2. Results show appreciable ability of the material towards H2O2detection for concentrations as low as 2mM.