Disposable sensor electrode modified with strontium vanadate-graphene nanocomposites for rapid analysis of hazardous insecticide carbofuran in environmental media samples

Abstract

Pesticides are inevitably used in intensive agrochemical practices to meet the global food demands of a continuously increasing population; however, the widespread and heavy use of pesticides disturbs the ecological balance and poses a threat to human health. Carbofuran (CBF) is a representative carbamate insecticide that affects the environment and human health. Therefore, highly accurate on-site CBF residue monitoring is essential for environmental media samples. This study realized the sensitive and rapid electrochemical sensing of CBF using monoclinic strontium vanadate (pyrovanadate)-supported graphene nanocomposite (SV-Gr). The SV-Gr nanocomposite was synthesized using the hydrothermal method, and the physicochemical properties of the SV-Gr nanocomposite were characterized via spectroscopic analyses. The SV-Gr-modified screen-printed carbon electrode (SPCE) exhibited good analytical performance in CBF detection, with a high sensitivity of 1.05 µA µM–1 cm–2 and an acceptable linear range (0.01–17.91 µM). Moreover, SV-Gr/SPCE exhibited good selectivity for highly interfering carbamate pesticides. Furthermore, the applicability of the proposed SV-Gr/SPCE sensor was investigated in environmental media samples, which achieved greater than 96 % of recoveries for all samples; thus, it is suitable for the sensitive and rapid detection of CBF in a real environment.