Highly sensitive Cu/Fe calcined layered double hydroxide sensor to detect imidacloprid, a neurotransmission blocker

Pesticides are widely used in agricultural sector, however their overutilization has significantly contaminated the environment and leads to the loss of biodiversity. Imidacloprid (IMI) is a systemic insecticide associated with the family of neonicotinoids which has a potential to affect the central nervous system and whose residues in environment are highly harmful to living organisms. To control the overutilization of such intoxicants, the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, Netherland assigned the permissible limit of IMI in water as 0.17 µg L−1. Herein, we report on a novel material, Cu/Fe calcined layered double hydroxide (Cu/Fe CLDH), employed as a catalyst to detect the pesticide IMI via electrochemical pathway. From SEM images, the transformation of closely packed nanocages into small lumps of surface beds was observed in the novel material, which is believed to have enhanced its electro-catalytic properties. The developed electrochemical sensor has a good selectivity towards IMI with the percentage inhibition of less than 4.91% and sensitivity of 4.45 nA nM−1. The developed sensor showed good sensor merits such as a linear range between 1 and 200 nM, and the detection limit (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) as 0.099 and 0.330 nM, respectively.