The first electrochemical evaluation and voltammetric detection of the insecticide emamectin benzoate using an unmodified boron-doped diamond electrode

This study introduces for the first time an electroanalytical investigation and novel voltammetric method for the determination of emamectin benzoate (EB) using a cathodically pretreated boron-doped diamond electrode (CTP-BDDE). The CPT-BDDE electrode exhibited a well-defined irreversible signal at ∼1.35 V (vs. Ag/AgCl) using cyclic voltammetry. Different scan rates (from 10 to 750 mV s⁻¹) suggested that the oxidation of EB on the BDDE surface is a diffusion-controlled process. Using square wave voltammetry, the anodic peak current was linear with EB concentrations from 0.25 mg L^-1 to 12.5 mg L^-1, with LOD and LOQ found to be 0.079 and 0.263 mg L^-1, respectively. The effect of other insecticides used to treat sea lice and inorganic ions found in seawater on the voltammetric detection of EB was negligible. The proposed method was successfully applied to the determination of EB at different concentrations in real sea water samples. To the best of our knowledge, the voltammetric behaviour of EB and the electrochemical method for EB determination is reported for the first time.