Kenaf cellulose-based 3D printed device: a novel colorimetric sensor for Ni(II)

Kenaf is a renewable resource that has recently attracted great interest owing to its fast growth which makes a large volume of raw material in a short time. Due to its large surface area and high water adsorption, kenaf cellulose was readily prepared as a substrate immobilized with dimethylglyoxime (DMG) for specific Ni(II) sensor. Herein, a simple and highly sensitive colorimetric detection of Ni(II) using kenaf cellulose-based 3D printed device was successfully created. The large volume (1.0 mL) of Ni(II) solution can be applied on a kenaf cellulose-based 3D printed sensor coupled with a multilayer of adsorption pads. This system provides a wide linear range (0.1–100 mg/L) with an extremely low limit of detection (40 μg/L), significantly improved from a conventional filter paper-based device (1.0 mg/L) for 25 uses, and it enables highly sensitive colorimetric detection of Ni(II) contamination in industrial wastewater without any use of external instruments validated with a standard ICP-OES method.