Fabrication of a novel screen-printed carbon electrode based disposable sensor for sensitive determination of an endocrine disruptor BPSIP in environmental and biological matrices

A screen-printed electrochemical sensor based on a graphene-modified screen-printed carbon electrode decorated with graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4@GN/SPCE) was examined for its ability to act as a sensitive and selective novel sensor for on-site monitoring of an endocrine disruptor, 4-(4-isopropoxy-benzenesulfonyl)-phenol (BPSIP). The successfully prepared g-C3N4 was thoroughly characterized using FESEM, TEM, EDX, FT-IR, XRD, UV– visible studies, and TGA. The prepared g-C3N4 was immobilized on GN/SPCE to prepare a low-cost and disposable sensor for electroanalytical measurement of BPSIP. The concentration of nanomaterial dispersion, pH, and composition of the buffer solution were also optimized for maximal response. At the optimized conditions, BPSIP was determined by cyclic voltammetry in two linear concentration ranges (1–100 µM and 100–1000 µM) with a very low detection limit of 0.02 ± 0.01 µM and unparalleled sensitivity of 0.9162 ± 0.0003 µA.µM−1.cm−2. Further, the electrochemical oxidation of BPSIP occurred at 0.65 V, suggesting the excellent electrocatalytic performance of g-C3N4@GN/SPCE. The proposed sensor has shown high repeatability and reproducibility as well as good anti-interference properties for BPSIP sensing. The feasibility of the as-prepared sensor is also tested in biological and water samples, with excellent recoveries in the range of 98–104 % for BPSIP sensing.