Biosynthesis of CuFe2O4@Ag hybrid nanocomposite: Ultrasensitive detection and catalytic reduction of 4-nitrophenol
Sandhya Punyasamudram, Reddy Prasad Puthalapattu, Ayyappa Bathinapatla, Ravi Kumar Mulpuri, Suvardhan Kanchi, Putta Venkata Nagendra Kumar
Abstract
Due to the dearth of extremely capable, sensitive, and stable catalysts, the efficient detection and catalytic removal of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) in industrial wastewater remains a serious challenge. The detection and determination of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) presence in the environment is a matter of paramount importance because it is a high-priority hazardous pollutant that can affect people, animals, and plants. Here, we present a promising and economically viable green synthetic route for fabricating CuFe 2 O 4 and CuFe 2 O 4 @Ag hybrid nanocomposites from the leaf extract of Senna didymobotrya . The UV–Vis, FTIR, XRD, FE-SEM, EDXA, BET and VSM analysis were performed to characterize the synthesis of CuFe 2 O 4 @Ag nanocomposite. To evaluate the electrocatalytic capacity of CuFe 2 O 4 @Ag, electrochemical sensing stratergy was performed with cyclic voltammetry (CV) and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV). The modified CuFe 2 O 4 @Ag glassy carbon electrode (GCE) (CuFe 2 O 4 @Ag/GCE) demonstrated a linear response in the range of 0.01-15 μg/ml (71 nm-107 μM) and the ability to detect 4-NP at low concentration (0.006 μg/ml (43 nM)). Due to the increased surface area of CuFe 2 O 4 @Ag/GCE by ̴ 1.5-fold, a greater cathodic current response (-16 μA/cm 2 ) at a low potential of -0.81 V was observed compared to CuFe 2 O 4 /GCE alone for the detection of 4-NP. Additonally, CuFe 2 O 4 @Ag showed excellent reduction ability towards 4-NP using NaBH 4 with an efficiency of 96.4 % which was higher than the CuFe 2 O 4 (only 87.3 %) in 12 min due to the synergistic relationship among Ag NPs and CuFe 2 O 4 nanostructures. The outcomes from this study shows that the bi-functional electrocatalyst holds vast potential for environmental remediation.