OICC Press Journal of Nanostructure in Chemistry 2193-8865 13 4 (August 2023) 2022 01 13 Novel synthesis of amorphous CP@HfO2 nanomaterials for high-performance electrochemical sensing of 2-naphthol 10.1007/s40097-021-00463-0 EN Mehar Singh Department of Chemistry, Centre of Advanced Studies in Chemistry, Panjab University, Chandigarh, 160014, IN Moondeep Chauhan Cluster Innovation Center in Biotechnology (CIC-B), Panjab University, Chandigarh, 160025, IN Yogendra K. Mishra Mads Clausen Institute, NanoSYD, University of Southern Denmark, Sønderborg, 6400, DK Scott L. Wallen NanoBioTech Laboratory, Health Systems Engineering, Department of Environmental Engineering, Florida Polytechnic University, Lakeland, FL, 33805, US Gurpreet Kaur Department of Chemistry, Centre of Advanced Studies in Chemistry, Panjab University, Chandigarh, 160014, IN Ajeet Kaushik NanoBioTech Laboratory, Health Systems Engineering, Department of Environmental Engineering, Florida Polytechnic University, Lakeland, FL, 33805, US Ganga Ram Chaudhary Department of Chemistry, Centre of Advanced Studies in Chemistry, Panjab University, Chandigarh, 160014, IN Sophisticated Analytical Instrumentation Facility (SAIF)/CIL, Panjab University, Chandigarh, 160014, IN Journal Article 2022 01 13 Abstract Present research, for the first time, reports a cetylpyridinium (CP)-capped hafnia (HfO 2 )-based novel nanomaterials (NMs) for efficient electrochemical sensing of 2-naphthol (2-NPT)—a noxious, mutagenic, and carcinogenic pollutant. A facile two-step hydrothermal approach was optimized to synthesise amorphous nanospheres of CP@HfO 2 NMs (18–25 nm). The results of spectroscopic and electrochemical studies confirmed the availability of electron-rich and surface-active sites in CP@HfO 2 NMs, which provided better chelating centres improving the stability of NMs and allowing selective detection of 2-NPT. For the sensing application, a CP@HfO 2 NMs film was grown onto a gold (Au) electrode and electrochemical sensing was performed as a function of varied 2-NPT concentration using differential pulse voltammetry (DPV). Due to facile electron transport, the CP@HfO 2 -NMs / Au sensor exhibited a sensitivity of 1.62 µA µM −1  cm −2 , a low limit of detection (LOD) of 133.92 nM, and a wide linear dynamic range (LDR) from 2.5 to 100 µM. The interference study evinced good selectivity and the propounded approach was successfully practiced for the detection of 2-NPT in environmental water samples. The outcomes of this research suggest that the CP@HfO 2 -NMs/Au system is an effective analytical tool for selective 2-NPT detection, which is essential for environmental monitoring and quality assurance. Graphical abstract