This review presents a critical and comparative analysis of carbon-based electrochemical sensing platforms for the determination of heavy metal ions in water, with emphasis on Pb²⁺, Cd²⁺, and Hg²⁺. The growing discharge of industrial and mining effluents has led to persistent contamination of aquatic environments by toxic metals, creating an urgent need for sensitive, rapid, and field-deployable analytical technologies. Carbon-based nanomaterials, including graphene, carbon nanotubes (CNTs), and MXene, have emerged as key functional components in modern electrochemical sensors due to their high electrical conductivity, large surface area, and tunable surface chemistry. Based on reported studies, typical detection limits for Pb²⁺ and Cd²⁺ using differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) on glassy carbon and thin-film electrodes are in the range of 0.4–1.2 µg/L. For integrated thin-film sensing systems, limits of detection of 0.8–1.2 µg/L are commonly achieved. MXene-based platforms further enhance sensitivity and enable Hg²⁺ detection with linear response ranges typically between 1 and 5 µg/L, accompanied by clear electrochemical or optical signals. Beyond conventional electrochemical detection, this review specifically highlights self-sustaining visual sensors based on MXene integrated with enzyme-driven bioelectrochemical systems, such as glucose oxidase (GOD) and Prussian blue (PB) assembled on ITO substrates. These systems convert chemical energy into measurable colorimetric signals without external power sources, enabling direct visual identification of Hg²⁺ ions. Under optimized conditions (e.g., 5 mg/mL GOD and 5 mM glucose), stable and distinguishable color responses are achieved for rapid on-site monitoring. Overall, this review not only summarizes current performance benchmarks of carbon-based sensors but also identifies key challenges, including long-term stability, selectivity under multi-ion interference, and large-scale device integration, while outlining future directions toward portable multisensor water-quality monitoring systems.

Пестициды играют важную роль в сельскохозяйственном производстве как эффективное средство быстрой и действенной борьбы с вредителями и болезнями. Однако их неправильное применение может привести к избыточному содержанию остатков пестицидов в окружающей среде и сельскохозяйственной продукции, что представляет большую угрозу экологической обстановке и здоровью людей. Поэтому необходимо создать новую методику анализа остатков пестицидов, которая была бы эффективной, чувствительной и практичной. Электрохимические сенсоры широко используются для обнаружения остатков пестицидов благодаря их высокой чувствительности, стабильности, селективности, простоте, быстродействию и низкой стоимости. В данной статье рассматривается применение и ход исследований иммунных, ферментных, нано и молекулярно-импринтированных электрохимических сенсоров для обнаружения остатков пестицидов, а также дается прогноз на будущее применение электрохимических сенсоров для обнаружения остатков пестицидов.

To meet global demand, pesticides play a very important role in the control of pests that damage agricultural products. However, overuse of pesticides threatens ecosystems and human health. In recent years, gas chromatography, liquid chromatography, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, capillary chromatography and capillary electrophoresis have been used in the determination of pesticides. Although these methods are highly specific, highly selective and sensitive, the high value of sophisticated laboratory equipment and tools is a complex and time-consuming process. Because of this, electrochemical sensors and biosensor platforms have become good analytical methods for detecting pesticides due to a number of advantages, including ease of detection of system manufacturing processes, high sensitivity and selectivity. This article describes the methods of manufacturing portable electrochemical sensors for detecting pesticide residues in fruits and vegetables on site, that is, the achievements in recent years in the field of cyclic voltammetry, square wave voltammetry, differential pulse voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. In addition, detailed information is provided on the basic mechanism and electrochemical sensitivity of these methods. The development of electrochemical methods and real-time monitoring of smartphone technologies, as well as their integration with detection platforms, are discussed. For readers with a scientific and technological focus, this article will provide additional valuable information for understanding the creation of portable electrochemical devices, rapid detection of pesticides, the role of electrochemical sensitive methods and contributing to their further development.

The development of low-cost and highly sensitive electrochemical sensing platforms for pesticide monitoring has attracted significant attention in recent years. In this study, coke-derived carbon (CDC) was successfully synthesized from petroleum coke through high-temperature carbonization under a nitrogen atmosphere. Subsequently, a CDC@CuO-NP nanocomposite was fabricated by depositing copper oxide nanoparticles onto the CDC matrix. The morphology, structure, and elemental composition of the synthesized materials were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), and elemental mapping analyses, confirming the successful formation of the composite and the uniform distribution of CuO nanostructures on the carbon surface. Electrochemical characterization demonstrated that the incorporation of CuO significantly enhanced the electrochemical performance of CDC by increasing the electroactive surface area and facilitating electron transfer. The CDC@CuO-NP-modified glassy carbon electrode was applied for the electrochemical detection of dichlorvos (DDVP) using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The sensor exhibited a concentration-dependent increase in charge-transfer resistance and showed a linear response in the concentration range of 247–3770 nM, with the regression equation y = 47.1458C + 111.8162 and a correlation coefficient of R² = 0.9832. The developed sensor achieved a low limit of detection (LOD) of 2.3 nM, demonstrating high sensitivity toward DDVP. These results indicate that the CDC@CuO-NP nanocomposite is a promising, low-cost, and efficient electrode material for the sensitive determination of organophosphorus pesticides and has considerable potential for environmental monitoring and food safety applications.

In this study, a novel SiC/rGO nanocomposite-modified glassy carbon electrode (SiC/rGO/GCE) was developed as a simple, cost-effective, and efficient electrochemical platform for metronidazole (MTZ) detection. The combination of silicon carbide (SiC) and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) provides a favorable interface with a high electroactive surface area, efficient electron transfer, and enhanced electrocatalytic activity. The mor-phology and surface characteristics of the modified electrode were investigated by scan-ning electron microscopy (SEM), while its electrochemical properties were evaluated by cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The results confirmed successful electrode modification and improved electron-transfer kinetics compared with the bare GCE. The main experimental parameters were systematically optimized, with the optimum conditions established at pH 10, an accumulation time of 300 s, and an accu-mulation potential of 0.5 V. Under these conditions, the SiC/rGO/GCE exhibited a broad linear response to MTZ over the concentration range of 5–5000 µmol/dm³, with a detection limit of 0.5 µmol/dm³ (S/N ≥ 3). The enhanced analytical performance is attributed to the synergistic contribution of rGO and SiC, where rGO promotes rapid electron transport and provides a large electroactive surface, while SiC contributes additional active sites and structural stability. The sensor was successfully applied to pharmaceutical samples, providing recoveries of 99.85–102.29% with RSD values below 2%. These results demon-strate the practical potential of the proposed sensor for reliable MTZ determination. Fur-ther validation in food and biological matrices and comparison with reference chromato-graphic methods will be necessary to establish its broader analytical applicability.