LAUSR

Abstract Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnONPs) were synthesized by precipitation method and used as a novel electrocatalyst for detection of Sudan II dye. The nanoparticles were characterized by X-Ray diffraction spectroscopy and scanning electron microscope techniques. To investigate the electrocatalytic effect of ZnONPs, a carbon paste electrode was modified with the nanoparticles. Then, at the surface of the nanostructured modified electrode voltammetric behaviour of Sudan II was studied. Optimization of the chemical and instrumental parameters on the oxidation response of Sudan II was studied by central composite rotatable design and response surface methodology to achieve higher yield of the nanostructured modified electrode. Under the optimum conditions, the anodic peak current of Sudan II was linear to its concentration in the range of 0.01–1.0 µM and 1.0–20 µM with limit of detection of 0.0017 µM. Also, the proposed method showed satisfactory results for detection of Sudan II in in real food samples.