A new copper doped montmorillonite modified carbon paste electrode for propineb detection

• New sensor has been developed for propineb detection.
• Some parameters have been optimized to meet satisfactory detection.
• Square wave voltammetry has been used for sensor performance examination.
• The sensor was successfully applied in aquatic medium for propineb detection.

A new copper doped natural montmorillonite modified carbon paste electrode (Cu2 +-Mt-CPE) was developed as a new highly sensitive and selective voltammetric sensor for on-line monitoring of propineb fungicide. The optimization and evaluation of the developed sensor were performed using square wave voltammetry and cyclic voltammetry techniques. The results show that the Cu2 + exchanged natural montmorillonite acts as an efficient electrocatalyst to detect propineb. Under the optimized conditions, a good sensitivity and selectivity to propineb was obtained at Cu2 +-Mt-CPE with a low detection limit of about 1 μM and wide linear range from 5 to 30 μM. The developed method was successfully applied for the determination of propineb in river and sea water samples with a good recovery.