Abstract

Cadmium oxide (CdO) nanoplatelets were synthesized by thermal decomposition of cadmium malonate. The synthesized CdO nanoplatelets were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD); from the XRD analysis, it is clear that the phase structure of CdO nanoplatelets was found to be face-centered cubic with the average crystalline size of 40-50 nm. FT-IR analysis shows the presence of surface carboxyl and hydroxyl groups on to the CdO nanoplatelets. From DRS-UV-Vis analysis, both the direct and indirect band gaps of the CdO nanoplatelets were found to be 2.0 and 1.67 eV, respectively. From the FE-SEM analysis, the morphology of the synthesized CdO was found to be nanoplatelets, which were randomly agglomerated. Further, HR-TEM was used to confirm the formation of nanoplatelets. The electrochemical sensing property of CdO nanoplatelets was carried out by cyclic voltammetry (CV) by coating CdO nanoplatelets on Glassy carbon electrode (GCE) and using it as working electrode for sensing of catechol. The enhanced electrochemical behaviour is mainly attributed to the nanometer dimensions and surface hydroxyl groups on the CdO nanoplatelets. Chronoamperometry (CA) was used to determine the sensitivity and repeatability of the modified electrode. The modified electrode shows linear range of catechol concentration between 7.5 x 10(-6) and 1.5 x 10(-4) M with sensitivity of 9.8 nA mu M-1.