Bismuth/hydroxyapatite-modified carbon screen-printed electrode for heavy-metal ion detection in aqueous media

¹ Department of Chemical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Seri Iskandar, Perak, 32610, Malaysia
² Department of Chemistry, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Abbottabad, 22060, Pakistan
³ Department of Environmental Sciences, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Abbottabad, 22060, Pakistan
⁴ Institute of Marine Biotechnology, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, Kuala Nerus, Terengganu, 21030, Malaysia

^* Corresponding author: azmuddin@umt.edu.my

Abstract

Square-wave voltammetric stripping analysis is attractive for environmental monitoring and trace metal ion determination. The sensitivity is a result of analytes preconcentration steps on the electrode and advanced measurement procedures, where metal analytes are stripped away from the electrode at appropriate potential scan. Screen-printed electrode (SPE) has great advantages for in situ assays of heavy metal ions. Modification of SPE with bismuth (Bi) film improves the amalgamation of metal ions and the addition of hydroxyapatite (HA) increases the ion sorption, and enhances the current response due to the large porous structure and surface active sites for the metal ion binding. The ionization of the functional groups on the electrode surface upon contact with the aqueous system further assists the cation binding. The analytical performance of Bi and HA-modified SPE for simultaneous detection of Cd(II) and Pb(II) ions by square wave anodic stripping voltammetry (SWASV) was evaluated. Under the optimized electrochemical working conditions, calibration graph is linear for 240 s deposition time, in 0.1 M acetate buffer at pH 7.6 with the detection limit of 16.8 ppb for Pb(II). Two peaks corresponding to Cd(II) at -0.8 V and Pb(II) at -0.6 V can be discerned suggesting that Bi-HA modification had increased the current responses.