A fast and facile electrochemical method for the simultaneous detection of epinephrine, uric acid and folic acid based on ZrO2/ZnO nanocomposites as sensing material

A novel electrochemical sensor based on ZrO2 and ZnO hybrid nanocomposites was developed for simultaneous determination of epinephrine (EA), uric acid (UA) and folic acid (FA) with the highly selective and ultrasensitive. The nanocomposites have been synthesized by chemical precipitation and thermal calcine method with economical, eco-friendly and practical nature. Their structure and electrochemical properties were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photo electron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and electrochemical techniques. The results reveal that the ZrO2/ZnO nanocomposites can possesses highly exposed catalytic sites, favorable conductivity, and the sensor excellent signal response for EP, UA and FA under the optimal condition. The electrochemical sensing platform has a low detection limit of 0.039 μM, 0.29 μM and 0.037 μM and a wide detection range of 0.8–420 μM, 10–2400 μM and 2–480 μM, respectively. It was also tested with a human blood serum sample at physiological pH with recovery 97.3–103.8% and relation standard deviation less than 5%. It indicates that the electrochemical sensors has a hopeful capacity of extensive applications in bioanalysis and diseases diagnosis. [Display omitted] •ZrO2/ZnO nanocompounds with high specific surface area was successfully prepared.•ZrO2/ZnO/GCE affords significantly action to amplify electrochemical signal for EP, UA and FA.•The sensor showed excellent resolution for EP, UA and FA in blood serum samples.•LODs and sensitivities of the sensor for EP, UA and FA were the best amongst reports.