Sustainable and degradable electrochemical sensor from a bamboo substrate with in situ polymerized PPy and electrochemically deposited dendric nano-Ag

Abstract

Increasing environmental pollution urgently demands sustainable and green materials as new candidates for electrochemical sensors. In this study, bamboo derived from abundant and renewable resources was investigated as a functional and sustainable substrate material for electrochemical sensors. A novel dendritic nano-silver–polypyrrole/bamboo chip (bn-Ag@PPy/BC) electrochemical sensor was fabricated via in situ polymerization of polypyrrole (PPy) on bamboo chips (forming PPy/BC), followed by the electrochemical deposition of dendritic nano-silver (Ag) onto the PPy/BC. Comprehensive structural characterizations confirmed that the bamboo chips were uniformly coated by PPy and dendritic nano-Ag. The bn-Ag@PPy/BC sensor exhibited high sensitivity (205 μA mM⁻¹ cm⁻²) with good linearity across a formaldehyde concentration range of 0–4.5 mmol L⁻¹. It also demonstrated high selectivity and excellent reproducibility (RSD = 3.66%). Furthermore, the sensor possessed outstanding mechanical strength (up to 38.62 MPa) and excellent degradation properties, retaining 83.66% of its weight after 57 days of soil degradation, surpassing several conventional degradable materials. Consequently, the bn-Ag@PPy/BC is a highly promising candidate as a cost-effective, degradable, sustainable, and environmentally friendly electrochemical sensor.