Munazza Arain

This study involves environmentally friendly synthesis of copper nanoparticles in aqueous medium without inert gas protection, using ranolazine as a capping material. UV-Visible (UV-Vis) spectrometry showed that ranolazine-derived copper nanoparticles (Rano-Cu NPs) demonstrate a localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) band at 573 nm with brick-red color under optimized parameters, including pH, reaction time, and concentrations of copper salt, hydrazine hydrate, and ranolazine. The coating of ranolazine on the surface of Cu NPs was studied via Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed that Rano-Cu NPs consist of spherical particles. X-ray diffraction (XRD) verified that Rano-Cu NPs are crystalline in nature. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) showed that the average size of Rano-Cu NPs was 40 ± 2 nm in the range of 22–95 nm. Rano-Cu NPs proved to be highly sensitive as a selective colorimetric sensor for As³⁺ via color change from brick red to dark green, in the linear range of 3.0 × 10⁻⁷ to 8.3 × 10⁻⁶ M, with an R² value of 0.9979. The developed sensor is simple, cost effective, highly sensitive, and extremely selective for As³⁺ detection, showing a low detection limit (LDL) of 1.6 × 10⁻⁸ M. The developed sensor was effectively tested for detection of As³⁺ in some water samples.

In this work, piroxicam-based copper oxide nanostructures (Px-CuO NSs) were synthesized via hydrothermal precipitation in the presence of ammonia. The prepared Px-CuO NSs were subjected to scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) to obtain morphology and crystallinity, respectively. The SEM study reveals that these Px-CuO NSs are in the form of porous rose-like nanopetals with dotted particles on their surface, while the XRD study confirms their crystalline nature. The Px-CuO NS-based sensors were fabricated by drop-casting them onto the surface of a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) and they were tested for nitrite detection using voltammetry and amperometry. The results show these Px-CuO NSs to be highly stable on the GCE surface with linear amperometric (current vs. time) responses to wide range of nitrite concentrations from 100 to 1800 nM, with limits of detection (LOD) and quantification (LOQ) being 12 nM and 40 nM, respectively. Importantly, the fabricated sensor showed negligible effects for a 10-fold higher concentration of common interfering agents and exhibited excellent selectivity. It was applied successfully for nitrite detection in water samples such as river water, mineral water, and tap water.