Structural, optical and electrochemical studies of organo-templated wet synthesis of cubic shaped Nickel oxide nanoparticles

Abstract Highly stable semiconducting Nickel Oxide (NiO) nanoparticles (NPs) has been synthesized by a facile, biomimetic and cost effective one pot synthesis route, through nickel nitrate (NiNO3) as precursor and medicinal plant Prunus persica as reducing agent. The bio synthesized NiO NPs were characterized by UV–Vis absorption spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffractometer (XRD), Energy Dispersive X-Ray spectrometer (EDX) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The average size of the NiO NPs was 28 ± 1 nm as confirmed by SEM, were spherical in shape and highly stable. The synthesized material was used for electrochemical studies based on nickel oxide/nafion modified glassy carbon electrode (NiONPs/Nafion/GCE). The electrochemical performance of the modified electrode was studied by cyclic voltammetry (CV), chronoamperometry (I-V) and linear sweep voltammetry. The sensitivity of the sensor towards glucose oxidation was examined and it was found that NiONPs/Nafion/GCE exhibited electrocatalytic activity to glucose oxidation. The apparent change in current was observed by varying the analyte concentration from 1 mM to 6 mM. Thus it has been anticipated that the highly selective and sensitive NiONPs/Nafion/GCE based electrode has potential to be applied for accurate measurement as photovoltaic devices for various practical purposes such as clinical diagnosis and sensing application.