A non-enzymatic electro-chemical sensor for organophosphorus nerve agents mimics and pesticides detection

In this study, a simple, robust and effective electrochemical sensor was constructed for ultrasensitive and selective detection of organophosphorus (OPs). DCNP (diethylcyanophosphonate, a nerve agent mimic) was selected as a representative OP to investigate the analytical performance of the presented sensor. 3 dimession graphene-gold nanoparticles (3DGH-AuNPs) composites were simply synthesized via one-pot hydrothermal reaction and characterized using TEM and XRD. Preparation of 4-aminoacetophenone oxime (APO) was performed via oximation reaction of 4-aminoacetophenone using hydroxylamine hydrochloride and characterized by FT-IR. And analytical performance of GCE/3DGH-AuNPs/APO based sensor for DCNP discrimination was carried out under optimized detection condition. A decent linear relationship for DCNP was obtained in the range from 1   ×   10 −11 to 7   ×   10 −8   M, with low detection limit of 3.45   ×   10 −12   M. Additionally, the presented sensor displayed decent selectivity towards not only DCNP, but also other OPs, such as diphenyl chlorophosphate (DCPP), dimethoate, fenitrothion etc. And reproducibility and stability of the sensor were also evaluated. These results demonstrated that the presented electrochemical sensor can be a promising sensing platform for OPs analysis.