Cadmium oxide/calcium ferrite nanocomposite-based enhanced electrochemical sensing of metronidazole

[Display omitted] •Synthesis and characterization of cadmium oxide/calcium ferrite nanocomposite.•Fabrication of cadmium oxide calcium ferrite nanocomposite modified glassy carbon electrode.•Development of an electrochemical method fabricated electrode for the detecting metronidazole.•Application of developed electrochemical method for detecting metronidazole from environmental samples. The current study aimed to synthesize a cadmium oxide/calcium ferrite nanocomposite (CdO/CaFe2O4–NC) by sol–gel auto-combustion method, then applied on the surface of a glassy carbon electrode to fabricate a (CdO/CaFe2O4–NC/GCE) as a sensor for the electrochemical detection of metronidazole (MNZ). The characterization of synthesized CaFe2O4-NPs and CdO/CaFe2O4–NC was carried out through various analytical techniques, to confirm surface morphology, crystallite nature, average particle size, magnetic behavior, and stability. It is an effective electrochemical method for the detection of MNZ. The fabricated electrode was characterized by cyclic voltammetry, indicating its diffusion-controlled electron transfer behavior. Thus, CdO/CaFe2O4–NC/GCE was used to quantify MNZ using differential pulse voltammetry with a dynamic range of 0.05–130 µM (R2 = 0.0996) and LOD of 0.034 µM. The electrochemical method showed significant stability, sensitivity, and reproducibility (RSD