A novel ultrasensitive electrochemical sensor based on a hybrid of rGO/MWCNT/AuNP for the determination of lead(II) in tea drinks

•The method can quantifiy Pb2+ in tea drink directly and need not process on pretreatment.•An ultra-sensitive, simple, and low-cost electrochemical sensor was built by a hybrid of graphene oxide-modified, multiwalled carbon nanotubes, and gold nanoparticle for the electrochemical detection of the Pb2+ concentration in tea drink.•The method has high sensitivity, precision, and linear range from 5 × 10−5 to 0.2 nmol/mL and a LOD of 7.1 × 10−6 nmol/mL.•The method has strong specificity due to the aptamer, and good accuracy comparing with ICP-MS.