Efficient and Economical Identification of Paranitroaniline in Natural Water Specimens: Rapid Electro-Oxidation is Accelerated by a Modified Ruthenium-Gold Electrode

Ruthenium-Gold bimetallic nanoparticles were produced using an electrochemical fabrication procedure on a pencil graphite electrode modified with graphene and chitosan. This method demonstrated an impressive combination of affordability and speed. The resulting nanoparticles are then subjected to thorough characterization using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. Finally, they exhibited exceptional electrocatalytic activity towards para-nitroaniline. Square wave voltammetry was used to detect a strong, fast current response for the environmental pollutant para-nitroaniline (PNA), showing a clear linearity between concentrations of 1.25 µM and 0.05 mM with a low detection limit of 0.15 µM. The proposed approach is applied for the quantification of para-nitroaniline in environmental water samples near agricultural fields, yielding an impressive recovery range of 98-101%. The experimental outcomes consistently demonstrated accuracy, precision, and prolonged stability, indicating that the newly proposed approach holds promise as a viable alternative option for environmental applications. Hence, RuNPs/AuNPs/Gr-Chi/PGE emerged as an attractive and cost-efficient solution for the on-site monitoring of PNA in environmental samples.