A novel IL-f-ZnONPs@MWCNTs nanocomposite fabricated glassy carbon electrode for the determination of sulfamethoxazole

[Display omitted] •Novel nanocomposite of IL-f-ZnONPs@MWCNTs for the detection of sulfamethoxazole.•IL-f-ZnONPs@MWCNTs promote the electron transfer and provide enhanced performance.•Ultra-sensitivity and selectivity for sulfamethoxazole determination. Sulfamethoxazole (SMZ) is an anti-microbial drug, generally used for adults and children. This work focuses on the development of a novel electrochemical sensor for the determination of SMZ in pharmaceutical samples. It deals with a nanocomposite based on 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium dicyanamide ionic liquid functionalised zinc oxide nanoparticles (IL-f-ZnONPs) and multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) fabricated glassy carbon electrode (GCE). The synthesised nanocomposite was characterised by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and Scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Furthermore, the electrochemical behaviour of the IL-f-ZnONPs@MWCNTs@GCE was examined by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV). Under the optimum conditions, the IL-f-ZnONPs@MWCNTs@GCE exhibited greater wide linear response in concentration range of 0.1–10 ng mL−1 with a limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) of 0.1 ng mL−1 and 0.2140 ng mL−1 respectively. The developed IL-f-ZnONPs@MWCNTs@GCE electrochemical sensor have additional advantages for its good stability, selectivity, cost effectiveness, portability and reproducibility. These findings demonstrate that the IL-f-ZnONPs@MWCNTs has large surface area, which promotes electron transfer from SMZ to produce a substrate complex, resulting in a better signal amplification. The electrochemical sensor was active for the detection of SMZ in pharmaceutical samples with recoveries ranging from 99.1% to 102.6%.