Cost-effective green synthesis of CuO nanorods for phenol sensor

Abstract

Green synthesis of a versatile metal oxide CuO nanorods (CuO NR) using the lemon extract for phenol sensor platform is presented. Carried out in a simple calcination process, the Citrus limon, L, noted to be greatly rich in organic acids, especially citric acid, successfully performed the reducing and capping capabilities in the reaction with copper sulphate pentahydrate precursor with maintained pH condition. The eco-friendly technique has been effective for the uniform and large scale production of CuO NR with the nanorod length and diameter of ∼3.5 μm and ∼100 nm, respectively. The presence of citric acid natural reductant and the generated nanorods structure was verified through Fourier-Transform infrared (FTIR) spectrophotometer and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. In electrochemical sensor characterization, the fabricated CuO NR showed outstanding stability in a series of scan rates with the notable electro-active site on its interface. The fabricated CuO NR was shown to hold the potency in the screening of phenol, a toxic compound prevalently found in the environment. A distinguished redox peak was successfully captured in cyclic voltammetry (CV) analysis for phenolic compound detection.