Electrochemical Assembly of Nickel Metal Organic Framework-Decorated Nanoimprinted Gold Dendrites as Peroxidase Mimic for High-Performance Hydrogen Peroxide Sensing

Hybrid nanomaterials with distinct properties and morphologies when clubbed within a sensor matrix can generate a synergistic effect on molecular sensing. In this work, creation of such nanohybrid platform has been attempted for rapid detection of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), which has tremendous role in area of medical diagnostics. Conventionally, the peroxidase (POD) enzyme catalyzes H2O2; however, it is prone to inherent chemical and thermal instabilities reducing the overall stability and shelf life of sensor probe. A possible solution for this problem has been attempted in this work where a nonenzymatic peroxidase mimic nanohybrid probe comprising gold nanodendrites (AuND), nickel metal organic framework (Ni-MOF), and hydrazine has been synergistically deployed for rapid detection of H2O2. The developed sensor probe has been rigorously characterized through various characterization techniques, including scanning probe microscopy (SPM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX-mapping), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), cyclic voltammetry (CV), and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The probe demonstrated impressive analytical performance, possessing a linear dynamic range (LDR) between 1 × 10–8 M and 1 × 10–15 M and a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.34 (±0.05) × 10–15 M. The probe’s average response time with changing H2O2 concentrations was 5.02 ± 0.42 s, making it an agile sensing platform for H2O2 detection. The nanohybrid probe displayed minimal response toward interferants such as superoxide radicals, ascorbic acid, cysteine, glucose, alanine, and citric acid, which usually coexist in a real sample matrix. In order to investigate the real-life applicability of the developed sensor probe, a real sample analysis involving synthetic serum was adopted, which yielded a current recovery between 90.20 and 94.14%. The probe fabrication time and on-chip synthesis procedure are facile, making it a robust and efficient sensing platform for H2O2 free radicals in clinical settings.