Spherical silver oxide nanoparticles for fabrication of electrochemical sensor for efficient 4-Nitrotoluene detection and assessment of their antimicrobial activity.

This research article reports an economic and affordable microwave-assisted synthesis of spherical silver oxide nanoparticles (AgO NPs) (80-90 nm) for an efficient electrochemical sensing of a hazardous organic pollutant 4-nitrotoluene (4-NT). Such well-characterized AgO NPs were utilized to modify gold (Au) electrode in order to fabricate AgO-NPs/Au sensor to detect 4-NT using cyclic voltammetry (CV) and linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) techniques. AgO-NPs/Au sensor exhibited a distinguished electrical response as a function of varying 4-NT concentration in neutral medium samples. AgO-NPs/Au sensor demonstrated an ultrahigh sensitivity as 15.33 μA (μM) cm, a low detection limit of 62.3 nM, and linear response in detection ranges of 0.6-5.9 μM and 37-175 μM. The sensing performance of fabricated AgO-NPs/Au sensor is reproducible, reusable, selective in presence of other chemical species, and validated using real samples. The AgO/Au sensor had much rapid and easy fabrication process and offered much lower LOD for 4-NT detection than many previously reported sensors. Along with efficient electrochemical activity, the spherical AgO NPs also exhibit remarkable antimicrobial activity against harmful gram negative Escherichia coli (E. coli) and gram positive Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) bacteria. Herein projected efficient AgO-NPs/Au electrochemical sensor for 4-NT is affordable with the capability of scaling up to perform point-of-care 4-NT testing needed for successful environmental monitoring and water quality assurance.