Promising Multi-Oxide Decorated Graphene Nanomaterials from Nickel Slag for Voltammetric Sensor Electrodes
摘要
Waste processing such as nickel slag into multi-application nanomaterials (NSWN) has become the latest trend in environmental chemistry for the last year. Nickel slag is rich in silica oxide (SiO2), alumina (Al2O3), and magnesium oxide (MgO) which has great potential to be used as an active material in renewable energy or electrochemical sensors. In this study, we modified nickel slag and studied its effect on the reversibility of graphene electrodes in solutions containing [Fe(CN)6]3−/[Fe(CN)6]4− and lead metal (Pb2+) species. NSWN modification was carried out through acid leaching and thermal variations using temperatures of 400–600°C. Mixing of graphene and Multi Oxide-NSWN (MO-SNWN/Graphene) was carried out at a constant temperature of 80°C using paraffin oil as a binder. During the observation, the electrocatalytic properties of MO-NSWN were studied using cyclic voltammetry techniques. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) results showed that thermal variations caused the morphology of NSWN in the form of irregular polygons to become small particles with smooth and dense surfaces. The calculation of the average particle diameter of NSWN using the Debye–Scherrer equation shows that thermal modification produces an average particle diameter of around 26–28 nm. The application of MO-NSWN as a Graphene electrode modifier shows excellent electrochemical reversibility properties in the Fe(CN)63−/Fe(CN)64− solution system with an Ipa/Ipc value of ~ 1. Similar things are shown in the application of MO-SNWN/Graphene in a test solution containing lead metal ions (Pb2+). The presence of MO-SNWN increases the anodic and cathodic currents when the redox reaction of Pb2+ ions takes place. Other results illustrate that MO-SNWN/Graphene has good sensitivity and stability during the detection of Pb2+ ions. Overall, the results obtained in this work provide an overview of the good electrocatalytic properties of MO-NSWN. MO-NSWN can be further modified and applied as an electrode modifier material in wider applications.