Electrochemical Sensing of Environmental Contaminants and Pollutants

Electrochemical sensing harnesses redox reactions at electrode interfaces to detect trace levels of chemical species in environmental matrices. Over the past decade, the coupling of advanced materials—including carbon nanostructures, metal-organic frameworks and conducting polymers—with sensitive voltammetric detection has transformed contaminant monitoring. These sensors offer rapid response times, low detection limits and the potential for on-site deployment. They address a wide range of pollutants, from endocrine-disrupting phenols and pesticides to emerging contaminants such as pharmaceutical residues and heavy metals. Key innovations include surface functionalisation for selective recognition, miniaturisation into portable formats and integration with wireless data acquisition. Collectively, these advances underscore the global significance of electrochemical sensors in environmental protection, enabling real-time surveillance of water quality and supporting regulatory compliance. Future directions emphasise sustainable fabrication, multiplexed detection and fully autonomous platforms for continuous field operation.

Research from Nature Portfolio

No recent Nature Portfolio content available.

Electrochemical Sensing of Environmental Contaminants and Pollutants publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in electrochemical sensing of environmental contaminants and pollutants across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Voltammetry: Electrochemical technique measuring current as a function of applied potential to identify and quantify species.

Limit of detection (LOD): The lowest concentration of an analyte that can be reliably distinguished from background noise.

Electrode functionalisation: Modification of electrode surfaces with materials or biomolecules to enhance selectivity and sensitivity.

Immunosensor: A biosensor employing antibody–antigen recognition to detect specific contaminants.

Metal-organic framework (MOF): Porous crystalline materials composed of metal nodes and organic linkers, used for high-surface-area sensing interfaces.

References

1. Electrochemical immunosensors: Application to surveillance of contaminants of emerging concern in aquatic ecosystems. TrAC Trends in Analytical Chemistry (2024).
2. Mesoporous WO3‐Dot‐Decorated Flexible Electrodes for the Determination of Industrial Pollutants. Energy & Environmental Materials (2024).
3. An electrochemical sensor based on copper-based metal–organic framework-reduced graphene oxide composites for determination of 2,4-dichlorophenol in water. RSC Advances (2020).