Nafion stabilized ibuprofen–gold nanostructures modified screen printed electrode as arsenic(III) sensor

Time dependant synthesis of ibuprofen derived gold nanoflowers/nanotructures (Ibu-AuPNFs/Ibu-AuNSs) was carried out via heating the mixture of ibuprofen and gold chloride (HAuCl4) at constant temperature. Characterization studies revealed the interaction of gold nanoparticles (AuNps) with ibuprofen and the changes in their size and shape. The product formed at heating time of 1, 10, 20 and 30 min was examined for arsenic (As(III)) sensing after adsorption at screen printed electrode (SPE) using cyclic voltammetry (CV) as determining mode. The product formed at 10 min heating performed the best results. The stability of the Ibu-AuNSs at electrode was greatly modified by applying nafion as binder and stabilizing agent. A linear calibration plot was observed for As(III) in the range of 0.1–1800 ppb with lower detection limit (LDL) of 0.018 ppb and regression coefficient (r) of 0.9998 under optimized conditions. The sensor was highly reproducible with relative standard deviation (RSD) of 1.9% for n = 15 and proved very selective for As(III) with no appreciable interference in the presence of various ions. The sensor was successfully employed for As(III) monitoring in various types of water samples.