Potential application of mixed metal oxide nanoparticle-embedded glassy carbon electrode as a selective 1,4-dioxane chemical sensor probe by an electrochemical approach

Here, low-dimensional mixed metal oxide (ZnO/NiO/MnO₂) nanoparticles (NPs) were prepared to develop a selective, efficient and ultra-sensitive 1,4-dioxane sensor by using the wet-chemical method (co-precipitation) in alkaline medium at low temperature. Detailed characterization of the prepared calcined NPs was achieved <i>via</i> conventional methods, including X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy, and X-ray photoelectron, UV-vis, Fourier-transform infrared and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopies. To develop a thin layer of nanomaterial on the fabricated electrode, a slurry of prepared NPs was used to coat the glassy carbon electrode (GCE) with conductive Nafion (5% in ethanol) binder. The fabricated electrochemical sensor showed good sensitivity (1.0417 μA μM^-1 cm^-2), a wide linear dynamic range (0.12 nM to 1.2 mM), lower detection limit (9.14 ± 4.55 pM), short response time, good reproducibility, and long-term stability to selectively detect 1,4-dioxane in the optimized buffer system. Thus, this work presents a reliable alternative approach over existing methods to selectively detect hazardous chemicals in large scale for safety in the environmental and healthcare fields.