Abstract
Nitrate (NO 3−) contamination is becoming a major concern due to the negative effects of an excessive NO3−presence in water which can have detrimental effects on human health. Sensitive, real-time, low-cost, and portable measurement systems able to detect extremely low concentrations of NO3− in water are thus becoming extremely important. In this work, we present a novel method to realize a low-cost and easy to fabricate amperometric sensor capable of detecting small concentrations of NO3− in real water samples. The novel fabrication technique combines printing of a silver (Ag) working electrode with subsequent
modification of the electrode with electrodeposited copper (Cu) nanoclusters. The process was tuned in order to reach optimized sensor response, with a high catalytic activity toward electroreduction of NO3−, as well as a low limit of detection and a good dynamic linear concentration range The sensors were tested against possible interference analytes yielding only negligible effects The proposed sensors were also used to detect NO3− in real samples, including tap and river water, through the standard addition method, and the results were compared with the outcomes of high-performance liquid chromatography. Temperature stability, stability over time, reproducibility and repeatability of this sensor were also investigated