Herein, we introduce
an eco-friendly electrochemical sensor based
on melamine-enriched nitrogen-doped carbon nanosheets decorated with
gold nanoparticles (Au-CNSm) for arsenic sensing. An extremely facile,
low-toxicity, biocompatible, and affordable hydrothermal technique
was adopted for the synthesis of the Au-CNSm nanocomposite. The Au-CNSm-integrated
sensing platform was optimized for electrode composition by cyclic
voltammetry (CV). Owing to the synergistic effects of melamine-enriched
carbon nanosheets (CNSm) and gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), the anodic
peak current increased in the Au-CNSm-modified sensing electrode as
compared to the CNSm-decorated platform. A wide linear range of 0.0001–100
μM and a low detection limit of 0.0001 μM were obtained.
The visual signals can be measured at a very minute concentration
of 0.0001 μM (0.1 ppb) on a screen-printed carbon electrode
(SPCE) modified with Au-CNSm. Hence, this electrode system clearly
outperformed the previously reported studies in terms of linear range,
limit of detection (LOD), and electrocatalytic activity for arsenic
sensing. Interestingly, the fabricated biosensor can be developed
as a point-of-care device for real-time environmental monitoring for
public safety. Henceforth, owing to exceptional attributes such as
portability, selectivity, and sensitivity, this device offers great
promise in modeling a revolutionary new class of electrochemical sensing
platforms for an ultrasensitive and reliable detection strategy for
arsenite (As(III)).