Roselle Blend Film Sensor (RBFS) for Detecting Fertilizer Concentration of Grape Tree

Abstract

A Roselle blend chitosan film sensor (RBFS) with different concentration of roselle has been developed. Electrochemical deposition has been chosen as an efficient technique for the fabrication of RBFS. RBFS with the concentration of 20cc of roselle has a stable value to detect the different concentration of fertilizer ranging from 0 ppm until 60 ppm. The type of fertilizer used in this testing was magnesium sulphate. The electrical laboratory testing result of the RBFS exposed to de-ionised water (DIW) showed the highest response with the value ~94%. The highest response value of RBFS exposed to magnesium sulphate with the concentration of 10 ppm was ~66%. The lowest response value of RBFS exposed to magnesium sulphate with the concentration of 60 ppm was ~30%. The results have been proven that RBFS is able to differentiate the concentration of fertilizer. The RBFS fulfils all the reliable sensing properties which include excellent response time, stability, repeatability, recovery, and selectivity. The morphological surfaces of RBFS were observed with SEM and chemical interactions between roselle blend chitosan were explained using FTIR spectra results. SEM image of RBFS showed the film surface was compact and the roselle was well distributed within the chitosan.