An electrochemically reduced graphene oxide chemiresistive sensor for sensitive detection of Hg 2+ ion in water samples

Abstract Divalent mercuric (Hg 2+ ) ion is one of the most prevalent forms of mercury species in waters with high toxicity and bioaccumulation in the human body, for which sensitive and selective detection methods are highly necessary to carry out its recognition and quantification. Here an electrochemically reduced graphene oxide (RGO) based chemiresistive sensor was constructed and used for the detection of Hg 2+ ion in various water samples. Monolayer GO sheets were assembled onto interdigitated electrodes, followed by reduction through linear sweep voltammetry and then modification with a single-stranded DNA aptamer. The electrochemically derived RGO based sensor showed selective response to as low as 0.5 nM Hg 2+ ion in presence of other metal ions and matrices. A comparison between chemiresistive sensors prepared with electrochemically and chemically derived RGO showed that the former had better response performance for sensing Hg 2+ ion. The proposed method provides a simple tool for rapid, selective and sensitive monitoring of Hg 2+ ion in environmental samples.