Development of an efficient phenolic sensor based on facile Ag₂O/Sb₂O₃nanoparticles for environmental safety

The facile hydrothermal method was used to prepare low-dimensional doped Ag₂O/Sb₂O₃ nanoparticles (NPs) at low temperature in alkaline medium. The calcined NPs were characterized in detail by FTIR, UV/vis, FESEM, XPS, EDS, and XRD. A thin layer of Ag₂O/Sb₂O₃ NPs was deposited onto a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) using Nafion (5% Nafion suspension in ethanol) conducting binder, which formed the working electrode of the selective 3-methoxyphenol electrochemical sensor probe. The proposed chemical sensor exhibits high sensitivity, long-term stability, and enhanced electrochemical responses towards 3-methoxyphenol. Response to 3-methoxyphenol is linear over the concentration range (LDR) of 0.09 nM to 0.09 mM. The analytical parameters of the sensor such as sensitivity, stability, response time, linearity, LDR, robustness, selectivity <i>etc.</i> were evaluated by an electrochemical approach. The sensor probe fabricated with Ag₂O/Sb₂O₃ NPs seems to be a promising candidate for effective and reliable electrochemical detection of hazardous and carcinogenic chemicals in the environment and health care fields in large scales.