Ultrasensitive niclosamide electrochemical sensor based on chitosan-encapsulated and Super P Li carbon black-embedded whisker carbon nanotubes networks

A novel niclosamide (NA) electrochemical sensor was constructed by modifying glassy carbon electrode (GCE) with chitosan (CTS)-encapsulated and Super P Li carbon black (Super P)-embedded whisker carbon nanotubes (w-CNTs) networks. The incorporation of w-CNTs and Super P formed an integrated carbon-based conductive networks that dramatically boosted the conductivity property. Moreover, CTS prevented the agglomeration of carbon materials and anchored zero-dimensional Super P and one-dimensional w-CNTs, constructing the “point-to-line” conductive carbon networks. The good film-forming ability of CTS enhanced the stability of the fabricated sensor. By harnessing the synergistic interplay of CTS/Super P/w-CNTs, the CTS/Super P/w-CNTs/GCE sensor achieved the remarkably sensitive NA detection (LOD: 10.5 nM) within an acceptable NA concentration range (0.01–25 μM). For the practical application of NA detection in water samples, the designed sensor exhibited outstanding reliability, as confirmed by relative standard deviations (RSD) ranging from 1.07 % to 3.48 %, and recovery rates ranging from 97.30 % to 102.80 %.