Hierarchical graphene oxide/nano-pyramidal stainless-steel on nickel foam substrate: A flexible electrochemical sensor for arsenic compound detection

Abstract

The organoarsenic compound roxarsone (ROX) is added to chicken feed to enhance nutritional value. Although organic arsenic is generally less harmful than inorganic arsenic, concerns have arisen about its potential to transform into inorganic forms when excreted in animal waste, raising environmental and human health concerns. The potential dangers of long-term ROX exposure require reliable methods for the detection of the target analyte. In the current study, fabricated nanoscale graphene oxide (GO)/stainless steel (SS) pyramidal structures on nickel foam (NF) is used as an electrode in the electrochemical detection of ROX. The proposed sensor was shown to outperform existing devices in terms of electrochemical activity, resulting in a wider linear range of detection for ROX (0.05–83.15 µM) and lower detection limit (LOD) (0.006 µM). Further, real sample analysis on water and meat samples confirmed the feasibility of the proposed GO/SS/NF sensor for the real-time detection of ROX in real-world applications. This research provides evidence to support the development of heterojunctions to improve ion transport channels and surface-active sites to promote ion mobility to enhance electrochemical responses.