Algae-derived biochar nanozyme array for discrimination and detection of multiple pesticides in soil, water and food

Despite the potential of nanozymes combined with sensor arrays for discriminating multiple pesticides simultaneously, they have few practical pesticide sensing uses due to the limited performance of existing nanozymes and the complexity of their preparation. Here, agricultural waste is utilized for the facile synthesis of high -performance biochar nanozymes and the fabrication of biochar nanozyme sensor arrays. The production of autogenous N-doped biochars with abundant surface functional groups and good peroxidase-like activities is achieved with different types of algae. High-performance biochar nanozyme sensor arrays can discriminate pesticides in a concentration range from 1 to 500 mu M and in real samples from soil, lake water, seawater, apples, cucumbers, peaches, tomatoes and cabbages. Furthermore, pesticides can be quantified down to 1 mu M. The development of high-performance nanozyme sensor arrays based on waste conversion could be a step toward pesticide discrimination and detection, which would improve human and environmental safety.

Automated summary

The facile synthesis of high-performance biochar nanozymes using agricultural waste and the development of sensor arrays enable the discrimination of multiple pesticides. This approach shows great potential for practical applications in pesticide sensing and quantification, improving human and environmental safety.