Direct Electrochemical Detection of Carbaryl in Water using Boron-Doped Diamond Electrodes

Abstract

Carbaryl (1-naphthyl methylcarbamate) is a carbamate pesticide used to cause adverse environmental and health effects when misused through water contamination. Therefore, this research aimed to develop a direct electrochemical detection method for carbaryl in aqueous media using boron-doped diamond (BDD) electrodes. In this context, BDD electrodes exhibited superior electrochemical performance compared to conventional materials such as gold (Au), platinum (Pt), and glassy carbon electrodes (GCE) due to a wide potential window, low background current, and excellent chemical stability. Cyclic and differential pulse voltammetry reported a well-defined oxidation peak for carbaryl at 1.30 V, with significantly enhanced sensitivity. The results showed that there was a linear response in the concentration range of 10–100 μM, with a detection limit of 5.30 μM, quantification limit off 100.69 μM, excellent reproducibility (RSD = 2.35%) and recovery (100.97%). Furthermore, SEM and Raman analyses confirmed the polycrystalline structure and high boron doping level of BDD surface. The method was validated using tap water samples, confirming the applicability for real-world environmental monitoring. These results suggested the potential of BDD electrodes for sensitive, rapid, and direct detection of carbaryl in water without the need for complex sample preparation.