Abstract: We present a novel electrochemical sensor based on an electrode modified with molecularly imprinted polymers for the detection of chlorpyrifos. The modified electrode was constructed by the synthesis of molecularly imprinted polymers by a precipitation method then coated on a glassy carbon electrode. The surface morphology of the modified electrode was characterized by using field-emission scanning electron microscopy. The performance of the imprinted sensor was thoroughly investigated by using cyclic voltammetry and differential pulse voltammetry. The imprinted electrochemical sensor displayed high repeatability, stability and selectivity towards the template molecules. Under the optimal experimental conditions, the peak current response of the imprinted electrochemical sensor was linearly related to the concentration of chlorpyrifos over the range 1 x 10-10 - 1 x 10-5 mol L-1 with a limit of detection of 4.08 x 10-9 mol L-1 (S/N = 3). Furthermore, the proposed molecularly imprinted electrochemical sensor was applied to the determination of chlorpyrifos in the complicated matrixes of real samples with satisfactory results. Therefore, the molecularly imprinted polymers based electrochemical sensor might provide a highly selective, rapid, and cost-effective method for chlorpyrifos determination and related analysis. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved
Author keywords: Chlorpyrifos, Electrochemical sensors , Molecularly imprinted polymers, Pesticides