Shape controlled synthesis of high surface area MgO microstructures for highly efficient congo red dye removal and peroxide sensor

In this work, we have synthesized magnesium oxide (MgO) with two different surface morphologies (rods = MgO-R and spheres = MgO-S). Their physiochemical properties were investigated by various advanced techniques (Powder X-ray Diffraction = PXRD; Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy = FE-SEM; Energy-Dispersive X-ray = EDAX and Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy = FTIR). Moreover, N-2 adsorption-desorption isotherm study was also performed to check the specific surface area of the synthesized MgO-R and MgO-S. MgO possess excellent features such as non-toxicity, high isoelectric point and low cost) and has been considered a most promising candidate for the removal of heavy metals/toxic dyes from waste water. Therefore, we have employed the synthesized MgO-R and MgO-S as adsorbing agents for dye adsorption study. MgO-R showed excellent adsorption capability over MgO-S toward congo red (CR) dye with 99.6% efficiency within 30 min along with higher adsorption capacity of 1928m(2)/g. Moreover, the working surface area of screen printed electrodes (SPE) were fabricated with MgO-R (SPE-1) and MgO-S (SPE-2) assisted with 0.1% nafion. These SPE-1 and SPE-2 were employed for the voltammetric determination of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). The SPE-1 showed most promising detection limit of 0.31 mu M with good linear range.