Synthesis of porous cobalt oxide nanosheets: highly sensitive sensors for the detection of hydrazine

Abstract A highly sensitive, reliable, and reproducible sensor for detecting hydrazine was fabricated using a porous cobalt oxide (Co 2 O 3 ) nanosheets electrode. The Caffeine assisted Co 2 O 3 nanosheets were prepared by a low-temperature aqueous chemical growth method. The morphology, phase purity, and porosity of Co 2 O 3 nanosheets were examined via SEM, XRD, and BET techniques. SEM results reveal the hexagonal sheet-like morphology of synthesized Co 2 O 3 nanosheets, while the XRD technique illustrates high phase purity. Furthermore, the BET technique demonstrated the increased surface area exhibited by the newly synthesized Co 2 O 3 nanomaterial. The hydrazine sensor based on the Co 3 O 4 nanosheet electrode demonstrated relatively high sensitivity (1.632 μ A cm −2 μ M −1 ) and a rather low detection limit (0.05 μ M) due to the fast electro-oxidation of hydrazine catalyzed by Co 3 O 4 nanosheets. The unique porous structure of Co 3 O 4 nanosheets offers a promising probe candidate for efficient electrochemical sensors of hydrazine.