Chemical sensor development based on poly(o-anisidine)silverized–MWCNT nanocomposites deposited on glassy carbon electrodes for environmental remediation

Abstract

A poly(o-anisidine)/silverized multiwall carbon nanotube (POAS–Ag/MWCNT) nanocomposite was synthesized by adsorption between POAS and MWCNTs using a solution technique. In this approach, an extended study on the potential development of a chemical sensor was done with the nanocomposites. The sensor was prepared by a simplistic and facile route from the POAS–Ag/MWCNT composites. Here, a thin layer of the POAS–Ag/MWCNT nanocomposites was deposited onto a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) with conducting coating agents to fabricate a selective 3-methoxyphenol sensor with a short response time in a phosphate buffer phase. The fabricated chemi-sensor also exhibited higher sensitivity, large dynamic concentration ranges, long-term stability, and improved electrochemical performance towards 3-methoxyphenol. The calibration plot is linear (r² = 0.9938) over a large 3-methoxyphenol concentration range (0.4 nM to 40.0 mM). The sensitivity and detection limit are ∼3.829 μA cm⁻² mM⁻¹ and ∼0.36 ± 0.05 nM (signal-to-noise ratio at an SNR of 3), respectively. This novel effort initiates a well-organized method of using nanocomposites for efficient sensor improvement towards toxic pollutants in environmental and health-care fields on large scales.