Nanostructured graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4)-CTAB modified electrode for the highly sensitive detection of amino-triazole and linuron herbicides

In agro-areas, linuron (LNR) and amino-triazole (ATZ) are the widely used herbicides to protect crops, but their widespread use pollutes the environment, especially when these are mixed with water or soil. In efforts to address these environmental issues and to detect trace quantities of the herbicides, a graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) with cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) modified carbon paste electrode (g-C3N4-CTAB/CPE) was developed and used for the detection of LNR and ATZ. Materials were characterized by XRD, TEM and AFM techniques. The effect of pH on electro-oxidation (under optimized conditions) showed the maximum peak current at pH of 4.2 for AMT and pH 6.0 for LNR. The electro-kinetic and thermodynamic parameters of LNR and ATZ were determined. Additional experiments were performed for the trace level detection of ATZ and LNR using the square wave voltammetric technique. Concentrations were varied linearly in the range of 3.0 × 10-7 M to 4.5 × 10-5 M for ATZ with a detection limit of 6.41 × 10-8 M, and 1.2 × 10-7 M to 3.0 × 10-4 M for LNR with a detection limit of 2.47 × 10-8 M. The developed novel sensor was effective for trace level detection of LNR and ATZ in water and soil samples.