Electrochemical sensor based on Ca-doped ZnO nanostructured carbon matrix for algicide dichlone

Abstract

As many new pollutants continue to be introduced into the environment, environmental pollution has become the biggest concern in the current era. It requires the development of a more sensitive, effective and selective, cost-efficient modified electrode. We designed a sensitive and effective voltammetric sensor with synthesized calcium-doped zinc oxide (Ca-ZnO/CPE). The cyclic voltammetry (CV) method was employed to determine the electrochemical behavior of dichlone (DCN), referred to as fungicide and algaecide. The surface morphology of the developed sensor's matrix was carried out employing SEM, TEM, and XRD techniques. The Ca-ZnO NPs as a modifier in the carbon paste efficiently enhanced both the oxidative and reduction peak current of DCN in CVs. The effect of electrolyte pH and scan rate variation investigation results were used to determine the total number of electrons in the DCN electro-oxidation mechanism, the number of protons, charge transfer coefficient, and heterogeneous rate constant. Additionally, kinetic and thermodynamic aspects of DCN were investigated. The square wave voltammetry technique (SWV) showed the lowest detection limit (DL) of 5.98 × 10–8 M and a wide linearity range (3.5 × 10–7 M to 7.2 × 10–4 M). The environmentally-based approach successfully quantifies DCN in water and soil samples.