Unravelling for 1st time electrochemical sensing of As (III) by 3D cavitized kagome type lattice

Abstract

Arsenic has continued to pose a threat to the environment for decades now. Thus, for ultra-trace detection of As (III), explorations and the manifestation of surface-functionalized materials displaying electrochemical sensing properties are being highly encouraged and researched upon. High performance and low cost remain challenging and are at the forefront of this pursuit. In this direction, herein a 3D cavitized Kagome type material, ammoniojarosite (AmJ) has been developed through hydrothermal etching process and utilized to modify the glassy carbon electrode (GCE) for electrochemical sensing of Arsenic (III) for the first time. Surface morphological analyses revealed that the developmental orientation of 3D cavities depends on the reaction time. Thus, the formation of 3D cavities on the surface was optimized and tailored to achieve optimal electrochemical behaviour. The electrochemical properties of the electrode were evaluated through cyclic voltammetry (CV) and square wave voltammetry (SWV) methods under varied conditions. The electrochemical sensing of As (III) showed ultra-sensitivity of 0.18 μAppb −1 cm −2 with the lower detection limit (LOD) of 3.651 ppb within the range of 3 ppb to 40 ppb with a response time below 3 s. The anti-interference activity towards arsenic ions along with the co-occurrence of other common cations have been evaluated. This material is benchmarked against a range of an electrochemical sensor for arsenic to develop cost-effective technology in the area of electroanalytical sensors. This proof-of-concept will be further extended to engineer such material from waste jarosite. • Development of high performance and low-cost material for selective detection of As (III). • A novel approach for facile synthesis of ammoniojarosite via hydrothermal route. • Highly porous microstructures with symmetric cavities in ammoniojarosite which has not been reported in literature till date. • LOD of 3.651 ppb and ultra-low-sensitivity of 0.18μAppb −1 cm −2 for As (III) with a response time below 3 s.