Bio-engineered sensing of Atrazine by green CdS quantum dots: Evidence from electrochemical studies and DFT simulations

Abstract

The present investigation reports a comprehensible and responsive strategy for identifying atrazine in several conditions using an extensive electrochemical method. CdS Quantum dots were synthesized via a greener approach, and their formation was endorsed by numerous characterization techniques such as FTIR, SEM, Raman, UV–Vis, and XRD. Owing to the splendid electrocatalytic behavior, Green CdS quantum dots (QDs) of crystallite size ∼2 nm was opted as the sensor material and were, therefore, incorporated on the bare carbon paste electrode's surface. The developed sensor demonstrated an impressive outcome for atrazine sensing accompanied by superior selectivity and sensitivity. The lower detection limit (LLOD) of 0.53 μM was attained using the developed sensor in a linear concentration range of 10–100 μM. Furthermore, the practical pertinence of the developed sensor was examined on distilled water, wastewater, and fresh liquid milk, resulting in a tremendous retrieval of atrazine (91.33–99.8%).