IN-SITU GROWN NIFELDH NANOSHEETS OVER NITROGEN RICH AMORPHOUS CARBON NANOTUBES: AN ELECTROCHEMICAL SENSING PLATFORM FOR THE DETECTION OF DEPRESSION BIOMARKER (Article)

Abstract

In this work, intrinsic conductivity mismatch of NiFe layered double hydroxide (NFL) catalysts and agglomeration of nanosheets were addressed by introducing N doped carbon nanotubes (NCNTs) which improves catalytic activity. Using a one-step wet chemical process, CNT-supported NiFeLDH nanosheets (NFL/NCNTx, x = 20, 50 and 100) were effectively created. This work delves into the lower level sensitive electrochemical detection of serotonin (5-HT) by utilizing synergy of CNT and LDH. The modified NFL/NCNT exhibits better electrochemical activity, appreciable sensitivity and spanned a concentration range of 0.01–400 μM with detection limit stood at 1.2 nM due to the plethora of electrochemical active surface area, remarkable conductivity and appreciable stability. Impressively, 96.0–96.8 % and 96.7–97.2 % recovery rates achieved in human urine and serum samples were well close to HPLC data, signifying its feasibility for real-time monitoring. The operational stability of the proposed sensor retained up to 89.13 % for 6 weeks. The present study highlights that tailoring NFL-NCNT heterojunction is an important strategy for the development of active and stable sensing platform.