Roll-to-Roll Manufactured Sensors for Nitroaromatic Organophosphorus Pesticides Detection

A fully roll-to-roll manufactured electrochemical sensor with high sensing and manufacturing reproducibility has been developed for the detection of nitroaromatic organophosphorus pesticides (NOPPs). This sensor is based on a flexible, screen-printed silver electrode modified with a graphene nanoplatelet (GNP) coating and a zirconia (ZrO2) coating. The combination of the metal oxide and the 2-D material provided advantageous electrocatalytic activity toward NOPPs. Manufacturing, scanning electron microscopy–scanning transmission electron microscopy image analysis, electrochemical surface characterization, and detection studies illustrated high sensitivity, selectivity, and stability (∼89% current signal retention after 30 days) of the platform. The enzymeless sensor enabled rapid response time (10 min) and noncomplex detection of NOPPs through voltammetry methods. Furthermore, the proposed platform was highly group-sensitive toward NOPPs (e.g., methyl parathion (MP) and fenitrothion) with a detection limit as low as 1 μM (0.2 ppm). The sensor exhibited a linear correlation between MP concentration and current response in a range from 1 μM (0.2 ppm) to 20 μM (4.2 ppm) and from 20 to 50 μM with an R2 of 0.992 and 0.991, respectively. Broadly, this work showcases the first application of GNPs/ZrO2 complex on flexible silver screen-printed electrodes fabricated by entirely roll-to-roll manufacturing for the detection of NOPPs.