Efficient electrochemical sensing of folic acid using ultrathin nanosheet BiSb alloy as electrode materials

Abstract

Nanomaterials based on metals and their alloys have been paid increasing attention due to their adjustable morphology, high stability and excellent catalytic activity. In this work, a representative type of low-cost, high-efficiency, pollution-free, and stable BiSb alloy nanomaterials was prepared using a low-temperature molten-salt electrodeposition method for nonenzymatic electrochemical sensing of folic acid. The morphological and structural studies of the BiSb alloy were performed using scanning electron microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The results revealed that the BiSb alloy nanomaterials with uniform flower-like ultrathin nanosheet structure. The BiSb alloy nanomaterials with unique morphology greatly increased the surface area and conductivity of the material, which is beneficial to the electrocatalytic oxidation of folic acid. As a modified electrode, the prepared BiSb/GCE presented favorable electrocatalytic activity toward folic acid with a wide linear range (0.005 ~ 50 μM) and low detection limit (2.3 nM). The proposed sensor has been successfully applied to the determination of folic acid in real human serum samples, indicating that BiSb/GCE is a promising candidate for nonenzymatic folic acid sensing.