Preliminary study of gold electrodes modified with cobalt nanoparticle for phosphate detection in environmental waters

Electrodes modified with cobalt nanoparticles have been used for phosphate detection. The synthesis of cobalt oxide nanoparticles included the progressive addition of ammonium hydroxide to a solution of cobalt chloride, which was stirred for two hours at 50°C. That was followed by a twelve-hour sitting period for a consistent solution. We filtered the precipitate after collection and calcined it for an hour at 700°C. After obtaining the cobalt nanoparticles, they were attached to a gold wire to form an electrode with changed properties. To test how well this electrode worked in a phosphate solution, we utilized a three-electrode setup from Autolab Metrohm, model AUT 84948. The three-electrode Autolab Methrom system, equipped with the modified cobalt gold electrode, was submerged in a phosphate solution in order to get readings. Buffer solutions containing KHP and KCl were used for all phosphate assays. While neither anodic or cathodic current peaks were seen in the KHP voltammogram, cathodic current peaks at a potential of -1.0171 V were visible in the phosphate solution (1 ppm NaH2PO4). It was evident that the electrode had a high sensitivity to liquids containing phosphate ions. As the concentration of phosphate rises, so does the cathodic current. A detection limit of 0.06 ppm was used for the measurement.