Fabrication of Boron-Doped Diamond Film Electrode for Detecting Trace Lead Content in Drinking Water

Multiwall Carbon Nanotubes/Spherical Glassy Carbon as Environmentally Friendly Adsorption Materials Utilized in Adsorptive Stripping Voltammetry for the Determination of Trace Amounts of Ga(III)

This work presents a proposal for an adsorptive stripping voltammetric (AdSV) method for gallium(III) determination at an eco-friendly multiwall carbon nanotube/spherical glassy carbon (MWCNT/SGC) electrode modified with a lead film. The operational factors influencing the sensitivity of the AdSV procedure were thoroughly investigated, and their most favorable values were chosen (0.1 mol L-1 acetate buffer solution pH = 5.6; 7 × 10-5 mol L-1 Pb(II); 2 × 10-4 mol L-1 cupferron; potential/time of lead film formation: -1.9 V/30 s; potential/time of Ga(III)-cupferron adsorption: -0.75 V/30 s). The newly developed MWCNT/SGCE has proven to be a competitive substrate to the glassy carbon electrode to create a lead film electrode, since it allows the determination of gallium in a wider range of concentrations from 3 × 10-9 to 4 × 10-7 mol L-1 with a lower limit of detection equal to 9.5 × 10-10 mol L-1. The elaborated procedure has been shown to be highly selective and insensitive to the presence of an even 100-fold excess of most of the ions commonly found in environmental waters. The MWCNT/SGC sensor, which can maintain >95% of its original response after 70 days of use, has been successfully applied for the detection of gallium in water samples with the relative standard deviation (RSD) ranging from 4.5% to 6.2% (n = 3) and recoveries in the range from 95.3% to 104.9%.

Recent advances in the modification of electrodes for trace metal analysis: a review

This review paper summarizes the research published in the last five years on using different compounds and/or materials as modifiers for electrodes employed in trace heavy metal analysis. The main groups of modifiers are identified, and their single or combined application on the surface of the electrodes is discussed. Nanomaterials, film-forming substances, and polymers are among the most used compounds employed mainly in the modification of glassy carbon, screen-printed, and carbon paste electrodes. Composites composed of several compounds and/or materials have also found growing interest in the development of modified electrodes. Environmentally friendly substances and natural products (mainly biopolymers and plant extracts) have continued to be included in the modification of electrodes for trace heavy metal analysis. The main analytical performance parameters of the modified electrodes as well as possible interferences affecting the determination of the target analytes, are discussed. Finally, a critical evaluation of the main findings from these studies and an outlook discussing possible improvements in this area of research are presented.

Nano-Needle Boron-Doped Diamond Film with High Electrochemical Performance of Detecting Lead Ions

Nano-needle boron-doped diamond (NNBDD) films increase their performance when used as electrodes in the determination of Pb2+. We develop a simple and economical route to produce NNBDD based on the investigation of the diamond growth mode and the ratio of diamond to non-diamond carbon without involving any templates. An enhancement in surface area is achievable for NNBDD film. The NNBDD electrodes are characterized through scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry (DPASV). Furthermore, we use a finite-element numerical method to research the prospects of tip-enhanced electric fields for sensitive detection at low Pb2+ concentrations. The NNBDD exhibits significant advantages and great electrical conductivity and is applied to detect trace Pb2+ through DPASV. Under pre-deposition accumulation conditions, a wide linear range from 1 to 80 µgL-1 is achieved. A superior detection limit of 0.32 µgL-1 is achieved for Pb2+, which indicates great potential for the sensitive detection of heavy metal ions.