In situ fabrication of copper oxide nanoparticles decorated carbon cloth for efficient electrocatalytic detection of nitrite

In this work, a simple and efficient electrochemical sensor for nitrite based on in situ fabrication of copper oxide nanoparticles decorated carbon cloth (CuO NPs/CC) has been fabricated by efficient electrodeposition and calcination route. Owing to the synergistic effect of high conductivity, fast electron transfer kinetics, excellent electrocatalytic activity and large electroactive specific surface area, the CuO NPs/CC electrode has exhibited brilliant ability in nitrite detection, including wide linear ranges of 0.5–3000 μM, low detection limit of 0.043 μM (S/N = 3), the fast response time of 0.9 s and high sensitivity of 1656 μA mM−1 cm−2. Additionally, CuO NPs/CC electrode has been successfully used to determine nitrite in real samples of drinking water and sauerkraut with satisfactory recoveries.