Design and evaluation of electrochemical sensors for biuret detection in fertilizers sensitized with carbon-based structure

doi:10.12398/j.issn.2096-7217.2024.01.007

Abstract

Abstract:

Fertilizer directly affects crop yield by regulating plant growth and development， and it is an important factor in promoting modern intensive agriculture for high yield and quality of crops. However， urea and urea containing compound fertilizers are prone to produce byproducts such as biuret. Currently， the high content of biuret in fertilizers causes crop toxicity in farmland， which cannot be ignored. Therefore， it is of practical significance to establish an efficient method for detecting biuret in fertilizers， ensuring the safety of fertilizer production and promoting the green and high-quality development of agriculture in China. This research is based on the urgent demand for high-quality fertilizers in the development of modern agriculture in China， and a sensitive electrochemical sensing interface based on carbon-based structural materials is constructed to achieve online and rapid evaluation of biuret in fertilizers and effectively overcomes the shortcomings of liquid chromatography and UV spectrophotometry， such as cumbersome sample pretreatment， high analysis cost， and large sample turbidity interference. During the electrochemical assay， a graphene-nanogold composite is firstly prepared as a sensing interface modification material， which combines the surface characteristics of carbon-based structure with the excellent conductivity of nanogold； Secondly， based on the inhibitory effect of biuret on electrochemical signal of copper ions， a linear regression equation is established for the response current of copper ions with the variation of biuret concentration. With the help of a smartphone obtaining electrochemical signal， rapid electrochemical analysis of biuret is achieved. The experimental results demonstrate that there is a good linear relationship between the response current generated by copper ions and the concentration of biuret in the range of 1-80 mmol/L， with a detection limit of 0.50 mmol/L （S/N=3）； The electrochemical sensing system is used for the analysis of biuret in fertilizer samples， and the relative errors between the detection results and those by high-performance liquid chromatography do not exceed 6.9%. Overall， this electrochemical method is applied to the online detection of biuret in fertilizers with high portability， reliability， and accuracy， aiming for technological innovation empowering crops with high yield and quality.

Key words: electrochemical sensing, fertilizer, biuret, carbon-based structure, online monitoring

CLC Number:

WANG Linjiang, WANG Heng, XU Shanshan, LIN Zexin, ZHENG Yang, ZHANG Xin'ai. Design and evaluation of electrochemical sensors for biuret detection in fertilizers sensitized with carbon-based structure[J]. Journal of Intelligent Agricultural Mechanization, 2024, 5(1): 58-63.

Figures/Tables 7

Figure 1 Electrochemical sensing interface using screen printing three-electrode system

Figure 2 Schematic diagram of electrochemical sensing toward biuret in fertilizer using smartphone

Figure 3 Morphological characteristics of TEM images for nanostructures

Figure 4 Cyclic voltammetry curves at different scan rates for calculating surface area of sensing interface

Figure 5 The variation of current response with increasing Cu2+ amount under 100 mmol/L biuret

Figure 6 Electrochemical sensing toward biuret at different concentrations

Table 1 Detection results for biuret in fertilizer

样品序号	高效液相色谱法 /（mmol·L^-1）	本方法 /（mmol·L^-1）	相对误差/%
1	13.6	14.3	5.15
2	5.8	5.5	5.17
3	60	63.4	5.67
4	7.6	10.8	4.21
5	68	65.4	3.82
6	2.9	3.1	6.90

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