Electrochemical detection of phenol using semiconductor based modified electrode

In present work, the fast, simple and cost effective electrodeposition method in order to fabricate ZnO thin layer as a well-known semiconductor, on conductive fluorinated-tin oxide (FTO) layer is described. The omissible polymer, Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVA), was used as an effective additive for controlling and improvement of ZnO nanoparticles growth on the FTO surface while electrodeposition process occurred, then its elimination via annealing process resulted in a highly porous nanostructure ZnO semiconductor on FTO surface (nano-ZnO/FTO). Characterization of the surface morphology of fabricated ZnO thin film by field emission-scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) exhibits highly porous uniform surface that can effectively increase sensing surface and sensitivity of the fabricated sensor as a result. Step by step monitoring of nano-ZnO/FTO sensor was performed using electrochemical techniques such as cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) [1,2]. Fabricated nano-ZnO/FTO electrode was used for phenol detection in aqueous solutions using impedimetric assessment. The impedimetric results showed low detection limit and broad linear range.