LAUSR

Abstract Highly sensitive detection of nitrite has drawn considerable concern owing to their destructive effect on both human health and the environment. A simple but sensitive electrocatalytic method for nitrite determination is significantly important in its real operation. Herein, a novel electrochemical nitrite sensor is synthetized by combining CuO with H-C3N4 and reduced graphene oxide (rGO). The N-doped carbon layer derived from H-C3N4 acting as “bridge” distributes evenly on the surface of rGO substrate and tunes the growth of CuO. The H-C3N4 acting as nucleation site could combine the catalytic center (CuO) and the substrate rGO to improve the electro-catalytic properties. The CuO/H-C3N4/rGO hybrid modified glassy carbon electrode exhibits remarkable sensing ability toward nitrite with a low detection limit of 0.025 μM (S/N = 3), wide linear response ranging from 0.2 μM–110 μM and a high sensitivity of 0.093 μAμM−1.