# Highly sensitive electrochemical detection of hazardous 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine using MgCo-TiO2/g-C3N4 heterostructure nanocomposites

## TL;DR

Researchers developed a highly sensitive sensor using a new nanocomposite material to detect a hazardous chemical called 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine.

## Contribution

The study introduces a novel MgCo-TiO2/g-C3N4 heterostructure nanocomposite for electrochemical sensing of 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine.

## Key findings

- The sensor achieved a sensitivity of 589.13 µA µM−1 cm−2 and a detection limit of 0.06 µM.
- The sensor showed excellent selectivity, repeatability, and reproducibility for detecting 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine.
- The nanocomposite was effective in a wide linear range (0.1–0.9 µM) under optimized conditions.

## Abstract

In this study, MgCo-TiO2/g-C3N4 heterostructure nanocomposites were successfully synthesized for the electrochemical detection of 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine. The MgCo-TiO2/C3N4 heterostructure nanocomposites were synthesized by preparing bimetal (Mg–Co)-doped TiO2via a microwave-assisted sol gel method, followed by a thermal approach to coat it onto g-C3N4 nanosheets. The morphology, structure, composition and optical and electrochemical properties of the fabricated heterostructure nanocomposites were characterized by various analytical techniques including PXRD, UV-DRS, VB-XPS, PL, HRTEM, FESEM-EDX, FT-IR, EIS and CV. To develop an electrochemical sensor for 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine (2,4-DNPH), the MgCo-TiO2/g-C3N4 heterostructure nanocomposites were coated onto a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) by a drop-casting method. MgCo-TiO2/g-C3N4/GCE showed an excellent electroanalytical response for the oxidation of 2,4-DNPH in a lower pH environment. MgCo-TiO2/g-C3N4/GCE exhibited excellent selectivity, sensitivity (589.13 µA µM−1 cm−2), and a lower limit of detection (0.06 µM) in a wide linear range (0.1–0.9 µM) under optimized conditions. Furthermore, the sensor exhibited high repeatability (RSD 1.38%), reproducibility (RSD 3.57%), stability and recovery in real sample analysis.

In this study, MgCo-TiO2/g-C3N4 heterostructure nanocomposites were successfully synthesized for the electrochemical detection of 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine.