Design and development of an IoT-enabled portable phosphate detection system in water for smart agriculture

• A novel flexible sensor is fabricated using MWCNTs and PDMS. • Experiments are conducted with various concentrations of phosphate solutions, temperature, and pH value. • The proposed sensor can detect a wide range of phosphate concentrations ranging from 0.01 ppm ∼ 40 ppm. • Machine learning models are used to differentiate various minerals in actual water samples. • An IoT-enabled smart portable phosphate sensing system is designed and developed for water quality monitoring remotely. This research proposes a novel low-cost, low-power planar interdigital phosphate sensor for smart agriculture. A 3D printed mould is used for sensor fabrication. The electrodes and substrate of the sensor are formed using Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes (MWCNTs) and Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), respectively. Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) is applied to characterize the sensor for a wide range of temperature and phosphate detection. The proposed sensor can differentiate differently concentrated phosphate solutions from 0.01 ppm ∼ 40 ppm. Validation of the experimental outcomes using the standard UV–vis Spectrometry promotes the reliability of the sensor. An IoT-enabled portable smart phosphate detection system is also designed and developed. The Arduino-based system is trained with a machine learning model trains to predict phosphate concentration in actual water samples. This enables surveilling water quality from any place and getting experts opinion from any remote location. The portable phosphate detection system will be highly beneficial for continuous water quality monitoring and significantly impact smart agriculture.