Cobalt oxide modified ytterbium nanorod electrode for the electrochemical quantification of flutamide in water

Abstract An electrochemical sensor based on ytterbium oxide nanorods decorated with cobalt oxide nanostructures (YbONRs/CoONSs) has been successfully developed for the detection of flutamide. The sensor electrode was fabricated by modifying a glassy carbon electrode with YbONRs/CoONSs, referred to as YbONRs/CoONSs/GCE. The YbONRs/CoONSs/GCE exhibited excellent catalytic activity and high stability toward flutamide oxidation. The effects of scan rate, pH, and electrolyte composition on the electrochemical behavior of flutamide at the YbONRs/CoONSs/GCE were systematically investigated. The electrode delivered its highest peak current response in phosphate buffer solution (pH 5.0) at a scan rate of 100 mV/s. The developed sensor achieved a limit of detection (LOD) of 1.91 µM and a quantification range of 32.01–50.00 µM. Its practical applicability was demonstrated by analysing spiked tap water samples, which yielded an average recovery of 99.28% with a relative standard deviation (RSD) of 2.98%.