Abstract
A simple, efficient and selective sensor was successfully developed for the rapid, simultaneous detection and quantification of nitrophenol isomers i.e. o-nitrophenol and p-nitrophenol using L-cysteine functionalized Nd2O3/rGO nanocomposite. Structural and morphological properties of L-cysteine functionalized Nd2O3/rGO was studied by various advanced characterization techniques including X-ray diffraction technique (XRD), UV–visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis.), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and Energy dispersive X-ray studies (EDX). The electrochemical features of the novel sensor were studied via electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and cyclic voltammetry (CV). Whilst, square wave voltammetric mode was used to quantify environmentally harmful nitro phenolic contaminants i.e. o-NP and p-NP under optimized conditions. The developed sensor induced remarkable electrocatalytic activity and conductivity to the reduction of nitrophenol isomers with wide linear response range from 0.05 to 50 µM along with low detection limit of 0.01 µM and 0.02 µM for o-NP and p-NP respectively. Furthermore, the fabricated electrochemical sensor showed good selectivity over some likely interferents. The practical applicability of developed electrode material was also tested in tap water and satisfactory results were obtained. These results suggested that the developed protocol can also be used for ultrasensitive electrochemical determination of other toxic environmental pollutants in water samples.
An efficient transducer for the trace level detection of nitrophenol isomers was developed using L-Cys/Nd2O3/rGO as a recognition layer. The developed sensor showed good stability and nice reproducibility for nitrophenol isomers detection in real water samples. [Display omitted]
•L-Cysteine functionalized Nd2O3/rGO nanocomposite was synthesized.•Surface morphology of designed sensor was evaluated by SEM and EDX analysis.•Simultaneous detection of nitrophenol isomers was achieved by the senor with high selectivity.•The RSD% values of repeatability, reproducibility and stability was less than 2.5%.