A highly selective nickel-aluminum layered double hydroxide nanostructures based electrochemical sensor for detection of pentachlorophenol

Abstract

With the widespread use of pesticides, environmental pollution has elevated to a top priority for humans. The pentachlorophenol (PCP) is one of the most dangerous chlorophenols, employed as pesticides, fungicides, and wood preservatives. In the current study, a nickel-aluminum layered double hydroxide modified glassy carbon electrode (Ni-Al-LDH@GCE) was used to build a straight forward, environmentally friendly, and accurate electrochemical sensor for the measurement of PCP. The fabricated Ni-Al-LDH was principally assessed using a variety of characterization methods to confirm its functionalities, morphology, porosity and crytallanity. The proposed Ni-Al-LDH@GCE sensor was also characterized electrochemically for the evaluation of its conductivity using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and cyclic voltammetry (CV). The linear dynamic range of the developed ultra-sensitive Ni-Al-LDH@GCE based electrochemical method was found as 0.05 to 50 µM at a scan rate of 50 mV/s in Britton-Robinson buffer of pH 6 for PCP. The limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quanitification (LOQ) of electrochemical sensor for PCP were determined as 0.004 μM and 0.0132 μM, respectively. The sensor's analytical suitability was evaluated using real water samples that showed the acceptable recovery values.