Arsenic (As3+) is the most carcinogenic and abundantly available heavy metal present in the environment. Vertically aligned ZnO nanorod (ZnO-NR) growth was achieved on metallic nickel foam substrate via a wet chemical route and it was used as an electrochemical sensor towards As(iii) detection in polluted water. Crystal structure confirmation, surface morphology observation and elemental analysis of ZnO-NRs were conducted using X-ray diffraction, field-emission scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, respectively. Electrochemical sensing performance of ZnO-NRs@Ni-foam electrode/substrate was investigated via linear sweep voltammetry, cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy in a carbonate buffer solution of pH = 9 and at different As(iii) molar concentrations in solution. Under optimum conditions, the anodic peak current was found proportional to the arsenite concentration from 0.1 μM to 1.0 μM. The achieved values for limit of detection and limit of quantification were 0.046 ppm and 0.14 ppm, respectively, which are far lower than the recommended limits for As(iii) detection in drinking water as suggested by the World Health Organization. This suggests that ZnO-NRs@Ni-foam electrode/substrate can be effectively utilized in terms of its electrocatalytic activity towards As3+ detection in drinking water.
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