Bi2S3/rGO Composite Based Electrochemical Sensor for Ascorbic Acid Detection

Abstract

The engineering of an efficient electrochemical sensor based on a bismuth sulfide/reduced graphene oxide (Bi2S3/rGO) composite to detect ascorbic acid (AA) is reported. The Bi2S3 nanorods/rGO composite was synthesized using a facile hydrothermal method. By varying the amount of graphene oxide (GO) added to the synthesis, the morphology and size of Bi2S3 nanorods anchored on the surface of rGO can be tuned. Compared to a bare glassy carbon electrode (GCE), the GCE modified with Bi2S3/rGO composite presented enhanced electrochemical performance, which was attributed to the optimal electron transport between the rGO support and the loaded Bi2S3 as well as to an increase in the number of active catalytic sites. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) analysis of Bi2S3/rGO/GCE demonstrate that the active Bi2S3/rGO layer on GCE plays an important role in the electrochemical behavior of the sensor. In particular, the Bi2S3/rGO/GCE sensor shows a wide detecting range (5.0–1200 μM), low detection limit (2.9 µM), good sensitivity (268.8 μA mM−1 cm−2), and sufficient recovery values (97.1–101.6%) for the detection of ascorbic acid.