Fabrication of cobalt tungstate/N-rGO nanocomposite: Application towards the detection of antibiotic drug-Furazolidone

Pharmaceutical waste disposal, especially antibiotic drug contaminants, is a current topic to investigate in global concern. However, it is critical to recognize and detect due to its adverse effects on ecosystems and human health caused by excessive usage and poor management. In this work, the Cobalt tungstate/Nitrogen-doped reduced graphene oxide (CoWO 4 /N-rGO) nanocomposite was synthesized through coprecipitation and ultrasonication method and used for electrochemical detection of Furazolidone (Fz) antibiotic drug. The physicochemical properties of as-prepared CoWO 4 /N-rGO nanocomposite have been investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Raman spectroscopy, Scanning electron microscopy/Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX) and Transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The electrochemical behavior of the CoWO 4 /N-rGO modified electrode was explored by Cyclic voltammetry (CV) and Differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) analysis. From the electrochemical analysis, the CoWO 4 /N-rGO modified electrode displayed an excellent electrocatalytic activity towards Fz and resulted in good reproducibility, high selectivity and long-term stability. The detection limit of Fz was found to be 0.022 µM along with a linear dynamic range of 0.09-799 µM. The proposed system is effectively applied for detecting Fz in real samples such as human urine and wastewater. Scheme1. Schematic representation of CoWO 4 /N-rGO for the detection of Fz.