Green Approaches to Field Nitrate Analysis: An Electroanalytical Perspective

The different approaches that have been taken in the development of analytical methods for the determination of nitrate within the field are reviewed. The emphasis has been placed on providing a critical appraisal of the chemistry that underpins current commercial systems and the need to remove the dependence on heavy metal and concentrated acid components. The search for more environmentally acceptable and user friendly systems has long been pursued and the present communication seeks to explore the recent development in portable testing technologies and how they might evolve in the future. In particular, the role of electrochemical techniques in the latter are investigated and their potential application compared and contrasted with the more traditional wet chemical detection strategies.