Quantitative Estimation of COD Values from an Array of Metal Nanoparticle Modified Electrodes and Artificial Neural Networks

Water quality monitoring has become critical in modern societies in multiple areas and at different stages. In this regard, chemical oxygen demand (COD) has become a key index in water testing, as it readily allows the determination of its overall quality and the presence of organic contaminants. However, conventional COD determination presents several drawbacks in view of the use of toxic reagents and possible interferences. The electrochemical determination of COD can be an alternative with many advantages, especially if using an array of sensors. Herein, the use of an electronic tongue (ET) for the estimation of COD was explored. The proposed ET was formed by an array of five voltammetric electrodes modified with different metal nanoparticles. An artificial neural network (ANN) model was built based on the responses of the array towards glucose and glycine as standards. This model was then used with real and spiked water samples, and the results compared to the electrochemical calibration and the commercial COD colorimetric methods. While the COD values of the real samples were low and outside the range of the ANN model, a satisfactory prediction for the spiked samples was achieved, showing a good agreement with the reference colorimetric method, that was better than the performance of the conventional electrochemical calibration method.