A novel efficient electrochemical sensor for detecting paracetamol contaminants in polluted water using an active electrode from tungsten oxide nanoplates

Abstract

Herein, electrochemical sensing of paracetamol in polluted water was achieved using facile-synthesized tungsten oxide nanoparticles. Ion exchange resin has been used as a sustainable preparation route, while the prepared nanoparticles have been characterized by XRD and SEM analyses. Orthorhombic WO₃·H₂O nano-plates have been synthesized via a facile preparation method, where the crystal size has been calculated as 25–33 nm, and these results were used to create a 3D model of the prepared WO₃·H₂O nano-plates. An active electrochemical sensor layer of the prepared WO₃·H₂O has been used to detect paracetamol in water with a concentration range of 0–50 mg L⁻¹. The tungsten oxide nanoplates show high sensitivity with a detection-limit of 66 μM and sensitivity of 12.85 μA μM⁻¹. Kinetic models have been investigated, where pseudo 1st and 2nd order models were used to study the sensing mechanism. Both experimental results and mathematical calculations have been combined and used to provide suggested sensing mechanisms. The current investigations may be the key factor of future, economic and eco-friendly environmental sensors for industrial wastewater treatment.