In situ synthesis of ceria nanoparticles in the ordered mesoporous carbon as a novel electrochemical sensor for the determination of hydrazine

•CeO2–OMC composites were prepared via a hydrothermal method.•CeO2–OMC had electrocatalytic ability to oxidation of hydrazine.•The sensor had high sensitivity, excellent stability and reproducibility.•The sensor was successfully employed to detect hydrazine in real water samples.

A novel ceria (CeO2)–ordered mesoporous carbon (OMC) modified electrode for the sensitive amperometric determination of hydrazine was reported. CeO2–OMC composites were synthesized via a hydrothermal method at a relatively low temperature (180 °C) and characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microcopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The CeO2–OMC modified glassy carbon electrode was characterized by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and cyclic voltammetry (CV) and indicated good electrocatalytic effect to the oxidation of hydrazine. Under the optimized conditions, the present sensor could be used to measure hydrazine in wide linear range from 40 nM to 192 μM (R2 = 0.999) with a low detection limit of 12 nM (S/N = 3). Additionally, the sensor has been successfully applied to detect hydrazine in real water samples and the recoveries were between 98.2% and 105.6%. Eventually, the sensor exhibited an excellent stability and reproducibility as a promising method for determination of hydrazine.

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