Polyaniline intercalated with Ag_1.2V₃O₈ nanorods based electrochemical sensor

A sensitive electrochemical based sensor was demonstrated for the determination of uric acid (UA) by polyaniline (PANI) intercalated with Ag_1.2V₃O₈-PANI (AgV-PANI). In this study, a simple ultrasonication method has been employed to prepare AgV-PANI nanorods and the crystalline structure, surface topography, and elemental status of the as-synthesized nanocomposites were investigated using various analytical techniques. These analyses revealed the formation of a good crystalline and ∼50 nm diameter with length of ∼100–300 nm AgV-PANI nanorod-like structure. Distinguishable PANI particles were apparently placed on the Ag_1.2V₃O₈ surface, and the surface of the nanorods was exceptionally smooth. The incorporation of PANI with Ag_1.2V₃O₈ significantly improved the charge-transfer characteristics and enhanced the peak current in the cyclic voltammogram compared with the case of pristine Ag_1.2V₃O₈ nanorods. The lowest threshold of UA detection was observed to be 0.017 μM (S/N = 3), and the detection range was wide (0.1–10 μM). Moreover, the AgV-PANI-modified electrode demonstrated excellent selectivity and sensitivity towards UA detection in the existence of other biologically important interferents. The present study confirmed that the proposed Ag_1.2V₃O₈-PANI based electrochemical sensor has good reproducibility and a long shelf life (40 d).