A low-cost screen printed glass electrode with silver nano-ink for electrochemical detection of H2O2

Abstract

Silver nanoparticles modified with poly(vinyl alcohol) (AgNP–PVA) were prepared by the reduction of silver ions with ascorbic acid. The concentrations of AgNPs, type of solvent and solvent ratio were optimized for the preparation of silver nano-ink to obtain a better conductive surface (low resistance). Different substrates such as glass, poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) and poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) were tested and the sintering process was optimized for the preparation of an efficient electrode for electrochemical application. The screen-printed glass electrode fabricated with silver nano-ink showed low resistance and therefore was used as a working electrode in cyclic voltammetry (CV) determination of hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂). A wide linear calibration range, 1.0 μM to 0.5 mM, was obtained for the determination of H₂O₂ with a limit of detection of 0.3 μM. The high recovery percentage (93.3–96.0%) has been obtained for the determination of H₂O₂ in a complex sample matrix (hospital and beauty parlor wastewater) and an interference study demonstrated the selectivity of the method. The screen-printed glass electrode is found to be simple, low cost and homemade compared to commercially available glass electrodes for monitoring H₂O₂ in environmental water samples.