Citation: Liu, Y.; Xu, X.; Ma, C.; Zhao,
F.; Chen, K. Morphology Effect of
Bismuth Vanadate on
Electrochemical Sensing for the
Detection of Paracetamol.
Nanomaterials 2022, 12, 1173. https://
doi.org/10.3390/nano12071173
Academic Editors: Deepak Kukkar
and Ki-Hyun Kim
Received: 25 February 2022
Accepted: 28 March 2022
Published: 1 April 2022
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Article
Morphology Effect of Bismuth Vanadate on Electrochemical
Sensing for the Detection of Paracetamol
Ying Liu , Xiaocui Xu, Churong Ma , Feng Zhao and Kai Chen *
Guangdong Key Laboratory of Optical Fiber Sensing and Communications, Institute of Photonics Technology,
Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China; liuying@jnu.edu.cn (Y.L.); szs1997@stu2019.jnu.edu.cn (X.X.);
churongma@jnu.edu.cn (C.M.); fzhao@jnu.edu.cn (F.Z.)
* Correspondence: kaichen@jnu.edu.cn
Abstract:
Morphology-control, as a promising and effective strategy, is widely implemented to change
surface atomic active sites and thus enhance the intrinsic electrocatalytic activity and selectivity. As a
typical n-type semiconductor, a series of bismuth vanadate samples with tunable morphologies of
clavate, fusiform, flowered, bulky, and nanoparticles were prepared to investigate the morphology
effect. Among all the synthesized samples, the clavate shaped BiVO
4
with high index facets of
(112), (301), and (200) exhibited reduced extrinsic pseudocapacitance and enhanced redox response,
which is beneficial for tackling the sluggish voltammetric response of the traditional nanoparticle
on the electrode surface. Benefiting from the large surface-active area and favorable ion diffusion
channels, the clavate shaped BiVO
4
exhibited the best electrochemical sensing performance for
paracetamol with a linear response in the range of 0.5–100
µ
mol and a low detection limit of 0.2
µ
mol.
The enhanced electrochemical detection of paracetamol by bismuth vanadate nanomaterials with
controllable shapes indicates their potential for applications as electrochemical sensors.
Keywords: BiVO
4
; morphology control; electrochemical sensor; paracetamol
1. Introduction
Drug detection is essential in the monitoring of drug molecules in bio-fluids and plays
an important role in drug quality control [
1
,
2
]. Paracetamol, also known as acetaminophen,
is one of the most popular analgesics/antipyretics and has been applied in effective treat-
ment of pain and fever in adults and children [
3
,
4
]. Paracetamol distributes rapidly after
oral administration and is easily excreted in the urine. Unlike other analgesic drugs, parac-
etamol does not produce gastrointestinal damage or untoward cardiorenal effects [
5
,
6
].
However, the hypersensitivity or overdose of paracetamol can lead to formation of some
liver and nephrotoxic metabolites, such as acute liver necrosis [
7
]. Moreover, the hydrolytic
degradation product of paracetamol is 4-amino-phenol that can be found in pharmaceutical
preparations and can cause teratogenic effect and nephrotoxicity [8].
It is desirable to develop an efficient electrochemical catalyst for paracetamol for
the quality control of pharmaceuticals, physiological function, and diagnosis in clinical
medicine [
9
]. Semiconductors have been taken as effective photocatalytic and electrochem-
ical sensors for direct detection of paracetamol [
10
–
13
]. Therein, transition metal oxide
BiVO
4
, with an excellent charge transport property (hole diffusion length L
p
= 70 nm)
[14,15]
,
has emerged as a highly promising electrocatalytic material with good chemical stabil-
ity, environmental inertness, and low cost [
16
,
17
]. Medeiros et al. reported that BiVO
4
nanoparticles could be used as a highly efficient and sensitive photoelectrochemical sen-
sor for paracetamol detection [
18
]. Generally speaking, morphology optimization can
further enhance the electrocatalytic performance of material oxides. Control of the size
and shape of material oxides is essential to optimize their active areas and favorable ion
diffusion channels [
19
]. As a result, many efforts have been made to engineer metal ox-
ides on the nanoscale that have led to the understanding of their fundamental size- and
Nanomaterials 2022, 12, 1173. https://doi.org/10.3390/nano12071173 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/nanomaterials
