Perovskite-Type Cu-Sn Hydroxide Microspheres as a Dual-Functional Electrocatalyst for Highly Efficient Nifedipine Sensor and Supercapacitor

An important challenge for materials researchers in the modern era is the fabrication of high-performance electrodes with novel designs and structures to enhance electrochemical sensing and energy storage performance. Recently, perovskite-structured bimetallic hydroxide materials, owing to their high conductivity, decent surface area, abundant redox activity, and good stability, have emerged as promising candidates for bifunctional electrochemical applications. In this study, we designed perovskite-type CuSn(OH)6 microspheres via a facile coprecipitation method for nifedipine (NFD) sensing and supercapacitors (SCs). Various characterization techniques were employed to confirm the successful synthesis of CuSn(OH)6. The uniform formation and distribution of CuSn(OH)6 within the sphere structure provide rich reactive sites and enhance structural stability, thereby improving electrochemical activity. This architecture also induces a synergistic effect between Cu and Sn, which increases conductivity and accelerates redox kinetics. Consequently, the electrode modified with CuSn(OH)6/GCE exhibited a wide linear concentration range of 0.4–303.3 µM and a low detection limit of 0.44 µM for NFD detection. This sensor further demonstrated superior analytical reliability, with selectivity of <5%, cycling stability of 84.79%, reproducibility of 3.3%, and recovery rates of 99.2–99.8% in the serum sample. Concurrently, the CuSn(OH)6/NF showcased a high specific capacitance of 514 F g−1 at 1 A g−1, good longevity of 83.05% retention after 5000 cycles, and low charge transfer resistance of 6.56 Ω and solution resistance of 1.04 Ω, validating fast ion–electron transport. These results underscore that perovskite-based CuSn(OH)6 is an efficient dual-functional electrocatalyst for sensitive electrochemical detection and high-performance SCs.