Carbon Materials for Electrochemical Sensing Application – A Mini Review

Electrochemical sensors are one of the very promising technologies to selectively and sensitively detect various toxic pollutants. Carbon materials has been well recognized to play an immense role in the development of efficient electrochemical sensors. The review attempts to discuss the role of carbon materials in electrochemical sensing applications. This review aims to discuss two different roles that carbon materials play in electrochemical sensing application as electrode material and as modifier of working electrode, i.e. electrocatalyst. Two most commonly used electrodes, such as glassy carbon electrodes and screen-printed carbon electrodes (SPCE) and examples of their uses in electrochemical sensing, have been discussed. Then, role of carbon material as electrocatalyst is explained. Pristine carbon materials, metal–carbon composites, and conducting polymer-carbon composites, the commonly used carbon-based electrocatalysts, have been well addressed and their contributions in improving the sensitivity for detection of pollutants has been also discussed. This review is written on the basis of two main applications of carbon materials in electrochemical sensors using glassy carbon electrode (GCE) and screen-printed carbon electrode (SPCE), and other application is as electrocatalyst coated over the working electrode. As electrocatalyst, pristine carbon materials, carbon materials supported over metals, carbon material and metal oxide composites, and carbon material-conducting polymer composite perform well in improving the sensing performance for detecting various environmental contaminants.