Surface tuning strategy: Functionalized carbon cloth as flexible and disposable sensor for 4-nitrophenol

• A surface tuning strategy was designed to fabricate a flexible and disposable electrochemical sensor for 4-Nitrophenol (4-NP). • The obtained limit of detection of 4-NP was 12.45 nM within a linear dynamic range of 0.16 – 2.65 μM. • The percentage recovery of 4-NP from tap water was within the range of 97.80 – 100.73 %. • This simple method can be adopted for monitoring 4-NP in aquatic environments. Herein, flexible and disposable electrochemical sensor for 4-Nitrophenol (4-NP) was fabricated through the surface oxygen functionalization of a bare carbon cloth electrode (BCCE). The oxygen-functionalized carbon cloth electrode (OFCCE) and the BCCE were characterized with X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). OFCCE showed higher electronic conductivity and greater electrocatalytic activity for 4-NP reduction than the BCCE. The limit of detection (LOD) of 4-NP at OFCCE was 12.45 nM within a linear dynamic range of 0.16 – 2.65 μM. The percentage recovery of 4-NP from tap water at OFCCE was within the range of 97.80 – 100.73 %. OFCCE demonstrated outstanding anti-interference properties in the presence of notable interferons in addition to its remarkable 92 % peak current retention after 25 days of regular 4-NP electroanalysis at 5 days interval. The low detection limit, good shelf-life and the ease of fabricating OFCCE confirm its suitability for routine 4-NP electroanalysis in water samples.