Mxene-derived Na2O7Ti3 nanoribbon as a promising electrode material for the detection of ethyl paraoxon in complex matrices

Abstract

This study reports the development of MXene (Ti3C2Tx) derived sodium titanate nanoribbon-based electrochemical sensor for pesticide detection. Titanium Carbide (Ti3C2) MXene-derived sodium titanate nanoribbon (MNR) was obtained by facile hydrothermal synthesis and characterized by powder X-ray Diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray analysis(EDS) and, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM). The synthesized water-dispersed MNR was stabilized with Nafion and deposited on the surface of glassy carbon electrodes (GCE), which provide a symmetrical uniform electrode surface. Further, the electrodes were electrochemically characterized with cyclic voltammetry (CV), differential pulse voltammetry (DPV), linear sweep voltammetry(LSV), and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The electrochemical sensing of ethyl paraoxon was carried out in 0.1 M phosphate buffer (PB) by CV, LSV, and DPV. The developed electrochemical sensor exhibited a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.22 nM, a very wide detection range from 0.69 nM to 174.03 nM, and a reliable sensitivity of 0.707 µA/nM/cm2. Moreover, the developed sensor was also employed for the detection of ethyl paraoxon in real samples (vegetable extract spiked with the pesticide). The results suggest that the developed MNR-based sensor would be a potential approach for efficient and accurate detection of ethyl paraoxon in ambient samples, with minimal interference.