Fabrication of M-type barium ferrite (BaFe12O19) grafted reduced graphene oxide (BF@rGO) nanocomposite using ethyl imidazolium lactate ionic-liquid: An effective electrode modifier for caffeic acid sensor

Caffeic acid (CA), a polyphenolic compound, has demonstrated antibacterial and antioxidant properties, suggesting potential benefits in preventing atherosclerosis and other cardiovascular disorders. However, its potential carcinogenicity to humans assigns it to category 2B. Hence, vigilant monitoring of the decreasing accuracy in CA determination becomes imperative. In this work, we proposed the synthesis of an ethyl imidazolium lactate ionic-liquid-assisted M-type barium ferrite grafted reduced graphene oxide nanocomposite (BF@rGO) and evaluate its electrocatalytic action towards CA sensor. The prepared samples are examined for their physicochemical nature using variety of spectro- and microscopic studies. The examined morphology outcomes exposed the well distribution of BF nanoparticles on the rGO nanosheets. The electrochemical detection of CA with the BF@rGO-modified electrode unveiled a higher current with minimal sensing working potential than that of other electrodes inspected in this study. The three-order magnitude analysis revealed adsorption-controlled kinetics and the quasi-reversible process of the BF@rGO-modified electrode toward CA detection. The detection limit of CA is assessed to be 0.77 nM, with a broad linear range of 0.01–892.51 μM, respectively. A supernatant coffee sample was used for real-time analysis, and a well-thought-of recovery percentage of 99.41% was attained. Therefore, the proposed BF@rGO-modified electrode demonstrates practical reliability in the detection of CA in food samples.