Nanomolar-level detection of priority toxic pollutant 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) in environment using a novel ternary nanocomposite based electrochemical sensor and its photocatalytic degradation is reported in this paper. A non-toxic and renewable natural biopolymer, chitosan wrapped carbon nanofibers was embedded with Ag doped spinel Co3O4 to prepare the bi-functional ternary nanocomposite. Economical and ecofriendly sonochemical method was employed in preparation of this porous nanocomposite. We used one-pot aqueous solution approach to synthesize Ag-Co3O4 nanoflowers and ultrasound-assisted method was utilized to prepare CS-CNFs. Morphological and structural properties of synthesized materials were analyzed using different characterization techniques. Electrochemical investigations using cyclic voltammetry and differential pulse voltammetry carried out with prepared ternary nanocomposite modified carbon electrode revealed its outstanding electrocatalytic activity in 4-NP quantification. The developed 4-NP sensor showcased excellent sensitivity of 55.98 μAμM-1cm-2 and nanomolar detection limit of 0.4 nM. Moreover, reproducibility, repeatability, stability, and selectivity were evaluated to confirm reliability of developed sensor. Further, real sample analyses were conducted using domestic sewage, underground water, and tomato to affirm the practical feasibility of 4-NP detection using the proposed sensor.

Department of Chemical Engineering College of Engineering King Saud University P O Box 800 Riyadh 11421 Saudi Arabia; Fellow King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy Energy Research and Innovation Center Riyadh 11451 Saudi Arabia

Department of Electrical Engineering National Taipei University of Technology No 1 Section 3 Zhongxiao East Road Taipei 106 Taiwan ROC

Department of Machinery Construction Institute for Nanomaterials Advanced Technologies and Innovation Technical University of Liberec Studentská 1402 2 461 17 Liberec 1 Czech Republic

Institute of Organic and Polymeric Materials National Taipei University of Technology No 1 Section 3 Zhongxiao East Road Taipei 106 Taiwan ROC

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