Recent Progress in Electrochemical Methods for Microplastics Detection

There is a growing fascination with electrochemical sensors designed for detecting microplastics and/or nanoplastics (MPs/NPs). Among the various methods available, the electrochemical approach stands out for its numerous advantages. These advantages include potential energy efficiency, monitoring, and diagnostic capabilities, low-temperature and low-pressure operation, versatility, scalability, selectivity, and environmental friendliness. In particular, the focus is on exploring changes in electrochemical properties to study the interaction between MPs and electrodes. This chapter briefly explains MPs contamination with its impact and discusses the MPs detection with electrochemical techniques. Several recent examples of such techniques are presented, including electrochemical impedance spectroscopy in combination with flow cytometry, chronoamperometry, and voltammetry. Finally, this chapter extensively explores the existing challenges encountered in electrochemical sensing of MPs in diverse environmental samples. It also highlights the potential opportunities in this field, paving the way for further advancements in the identification and monitoring of MPs/NPs in our environment. The goal is to enhance our understanding and ability to detect these harmful pollutants effectively.