Chromium vanadate nanoparticles entrapped reduced graphene oxide nanosheets: A nanocomposite with high catalytic activity for the detection of hypertension-drug nifedipine in biological samples

Though having excellent characteristics, chromium vanadate (CrV) use in the electrochemical sensor field has rarely been reported. Herein, we report the chromium vanadate/reduced graphene oxide (CrV/rGO) nanocomposite-modified electrode for the sensitive detection of Nifedipine (NF) for the first time. NF is a highly prescribed hypertension drug and also emerging as a pollutant due to its high consumption. Simple and rapid quantification of NF in water and biological fluids is highly required for water quality and pollution control. Precipitation followed by annealing synthesis has been adopted to design the CrV/rGO nanocomposite. The CrV/rGO nanocomposite's crystal structure, functional groups, and surface morphologies were determined utilizing XRD, XPS, FT-IR, Raman, HR-TEM, and FE-SEM. The pebbles-like irregular cube-shaped CrV nanoparticles embedded inside the wrinkly nanosheets of reduced graphene nanocomposite caused structural flaws that led to a large surface area and a straightforward electron transport channel. Using the CrV/rGO nanocomposite modified glassy carbon electrode (CrV/rGO/GCE), an extremely low detection limit of 0.0048 µM and sensitivity of 1.185 µA µM⁻¹ cm² were obtained. In addition, it demonstrated a respectable degree of selectivity among the prevalent interfering molecules. Furthermore, the CrV/rGO/GCE sensor could detect NF in human urine, and tap water samples with greater than > 98% recovery, demonstrating its suitability for rapid NF detection. Hence, using CrV/rGO nanocomposite material in high-performance electrochemical applications has great potential for practicality.