Individual and simultaneous determination of lead, cadmium, and zinc by anodic stripping voltammetry at a bismuth bulk electrode

A bismuth bulk electrode (BiBE) has been investigated as an alternative electrode for the anodic stripping voltammetric (ASV) analysis of Pb(II), Cd(II), and Zn(II). The BiBE, which is fabricated in-house, shows results comparable to those of similar analyses at other Bi-based electrodes. Metal accumulation is achieved by holding the electrode potential at −1.4 V (vs. Ag/AgCl) for 180 s followed by a square wave voltammetric stripping scan from −1.4 to −0.35 V. Calibration plots are obtained for all three metals, individually and simultaneously, in the10-100 μg L⁻¹ range, with a detection limit of 93, 54, and 396 ng L⁻¹ for Pb(II), Cd(II), Zn(II), respectively. A slight reduction in slope is observed for Cd(II) and Pb(II) when the three metals are calibrated simultaneously vs. individually. Comparing the sensitivities of the metals when calibrated individually vs. in a mixture reveals that Zn(II) is not affected by stripping in a mixture. However, Pb(II) and Cd(II) have decreasing sensitivities in a mixture. The optimized method has been successfully used to test contaminated river water by standard addition. The results demonstrate the ability of the BiBE as an alternative electrode material in heavy metal analysis.     

A Robust Electrochemical Sensor Based on Butterfly-shaped Silver Nanostructure for Concurrent Quantification of Heavy Metals in Water Samples

Heavy metals in drinking water have become a severe threat to human health. Detection of heavy metals has been achieved by electrochemical sensors that are modified with complex nanocomposites; however, reproducibility of these sensors is still a big challenge when applied in commercial settings. Here, a simple, very robust, and sensitive electrochemical sensor based on a screen-printed carbon electrode modified with butterfly-shaped silver nanostructure (AgNS/SPCE) has been developed for the concurrent determination of cadmium (II), lead (II), copper (II), and mercury (II) in water samples. The electrochemical behavior of the modified electrodes was investigated using cyclic voltammetry and differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry. The AgNS/SPCE showed distinct peak potentials and a significant increase in the peak currents for all heavy metals, attributed to the high electrical conductivity and electrocatalytic activity of the synthesized butterfly-shaped AgNS. Moreover, the excellent stability and sensitivity towards simultaneous quantification of heavy metals have been obtained with detection limits of 0.4 ppb, 2.5 ppb, 7.3 ppb, and 0.7 ppb for Cd (II), Pb (II), Cu (II), and Hg (II), respectively. Besides, the constructed sensor was successfully applied to simultaneously quantify target heavy metals in spiked water samples. Owing to excellent sensitivity, high robustness, affordability, and fast response, the presented electrochemical sensor could be incorporated into a portable and miniaturized potentiostat device, making it a promising method for on-site water analysis.     

A study of bismuth-film electrodes for the detection of trace metals by anodic stripping voltammetry and their application to the determination of Pb and Zn in tapwater and human hair

This work reports the simultaneous determination of Cd(II), Pb(II) and Zn(II) at the low μg l⁻¹ concentration levels by square wave anodic stripping voltammetry (SWASV) on a bismuth-film electrode (BFE) plated in situ. The metal ions and bismuth were simultaneously deposited by reduction at −1.4 V on a rotating glassy carbon disk electrode. Then, the preconcentrated metals were oxidised by scanning the potential of the electrode from −1.4 to 0 V using a square-wave waveform. The stripping current arising from the oxidation of each metal was related to the concentration of each metal in the sample. The parameters for the simultaneous determination of the three metals were investigated with the view to apply this type of voltammetric sensor to real samples containing low concentrations of metals. Using the selected conditions, the limits of detection were 0.2 μg l⁻¹ for Cd and for Pb and 0.7 μg l⁻¹ for Zn at a preconcentration time of 10 min. Finally, BFE's were successfully applied to the determination of Pb and Zn in tapwater and human hair and the results were in satisfactory statistical agreement with atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS).     

Voltammetric Determination of Trace Heavy Metals by Sequential-injection Analysis at Plastic Fluidic Chips with Integrated Carbon Fiber-based Electrodes

This work describes a sequential injection analysis (SIA) method for on-line strippping voltammetric determination of Pb(II), Cd(II) and Zn(II) using an injection-moulded electrochemical fluidic chip consisting of 3 conductive carbon fiber-loaded polymer electrodes embedded in a plastic fluidic holder. The sample containing the target metals and a solution containing Bi(III) were aspirated in the holding coil of the SIA manifold. Then, the flow was reversed and the two solutions were directed to the fluidic cell through a mixing coil which induced mixing of the two zones. Upon reaching the cell, simultaneous reduction of the target metals and Bi(III) occurred resulting in the formation of a metal-Bi alloy on the working electrode. Finally, the accumulated metals were stripped off the bismuth-film electrode via a positive potential scan and the oxidation current was recorded. The experimental variables (concentration of the bismuth plating solution, deposition potential, sample volume, stripping mode) were investigated and the potential interferences were assessed. The limits of quantification were 2.8 μg L⁻¹ for Pb(II), 3.6 μg L⁻¹ for Cd(II) and 4.2 μg L⁻¹ for Zn(II) and the the within-chip and between-chip % relative standard deviations were ≤6.3 % and ≤14 %, respectively. Finally, the sensor was applied to the determination of trace metals in a fish food sample.     

Determination of trace heavy metals in herbs by sequential injection analysis-anodic stripping voltammetry using screen-printed carbon nanotubes electrodes

A method for the simultaneous determination of Pb(II), Cd(II), and Zn(II) at low μg L⁻¹ concentration levels by sequential injection analysis-anodic stripping voltammetry (SIA-ASV) using screen-printed carbon nanotubes electrodes (SPCNTE) was developed. A bismuth film was prepared by in situ plating of bismuth on the screen-printed carbon nanotubes electrode. Operational parameters such as ratio of carbon nanotubes to carbon ink, bismuth concentration, deposition time and flow rate during preconcentration step were optimized. Under the optimal conditions, the linear ranges were found to be 2-100 μg L⁻¹ for Pb(II) and Cd(II), and 12-100 μg L⁻¹ for Zn(II). The limits of detection (S_bl/S = 3) were 0.2 μg L⁻¹ for Pb(II), 0.8 μg L⁻¹ for Cd(II) and 11 μg L⁻¹ for Zn(II). The measurement frequency was found to be 10-15 stripping cycle h⁻¹. The present method offers high sensitivity and high throughput for on-line monitoring of trace heavy metals. The practical utility of our method was also demonstrated with the determination of Pb(II), Cd(II), and Zn(II) by spiking procedure in herb samples. Our methodology produced results that were correlated with ICP-AES data. Therefore, we propose a method that can be used for the automatic and sensitive evaluation of heavy metals contaminated in herb items.     

Simultaneous Determination of Cadmium,Lead, Copper,and Thallium in Highly Saline Samples by Anodic Stripping Voltammetry (ASV) Using Mercury‐Film and Bismuth‐Film Electrodes

This paper describes a comparative study of the simultaneous determination of Cd(II), Pb(II), Tl(I), and Cu(II) in highly saline samples (seawater, hydrothermal fluids, and dialysis concentrates) by ASV using the mercury‐film electrode (MFE) and the bismuth‐film electrode (BiFE) as working electrodes. The features of MFE and BiFE as working electrodes for the single‐run ASV determinations are shown and their performances are compared with that of HMDE under similar conditions. It was observed that the stripping peak of Tl(I) was well separated from Cd(II) and Pb(II) peaks in all the studied saline samples when MFE was used. Because of the severe overlapping of Bi(III) and Cu(II) stripping peaks in the ASV using BiFE, as well as the overlapping of Pb(II) and Tl(I) stripping peaks in the ASV using HMDE, the simultaneous determination of these metals was not possible in highly saline medium using these both working electrodes. The detection limits calculated for the metals using MFE and BiFE (deposition time of 60 s) were between 0.043 and 0.070 μg L^?1 for Cd(II), between 0.060 and 0.10 μg L^?1 for Pb(II) and between 0.70 and 8.12 μg L^?1 for Tl(I) in the saline samples studied. The detection limits calculated for Cu(II) using the MFE were 0.15 and 0.50 μg L^?1 in seawater/hydrothermal fluid and dialysis concentrate samples, respectively. The methods were applied to the simultaneous determination of Cd(II), Pb(II), Tl(I), and Cu(II) in samples of seawater, hydrothermal fluids and dialysis concentrates.     

Simultaneous Voltammetric Determination of Heavy Metals by Use of Crown Ether‐modified Electrodes and Chemometrics

A three‐sensor array consisting of a graphite‐epoxy composite electrode (GEC), 4‐carboxybenzo‐18‐crown‐6‐GEC and 4‐carboxybenzo‐15‐crown‐5‐GEC was employed for the simultaneous determination of Cd(II), Pb(II) and Hg(II) by differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry (DPASV). Sensors were firstly studied for the determination of Hg(II); secondly, peak current responses confirmed that all sensors showed differentiated response for the three considered metals. A response model was developed to resolve mixtures of Cd(II), Pb(II) and Hg(II) at the µg L^?1 level; Discrete Wavelet Transform was selected as preprocessing tool and artificial neural network used for the modelling of the obtained responses.     

Reduced Graphene Oxide Impregnated Antimony Nanoparticle Sensor for Electroanalysis of Platinum Group Metals

A very sensitive electrochemical sensor based on a reduced graphene oxide film impregnated with antimony nanoparticles was prepared and applied to the electroanalysis of platinum group metal ions of Pd(II), Pt(II) and Rh(III). The electrochemical behavior of platinum group metals at the modified electrode was studied by adsorptive differential pulse cathodic stripping voltammetry in the presence of dimethylglyoxime as chelating agent. Several operational parameters were optimised to enhance the electroanalytical performance of the modified glassy carbon electrode sensor. The results showed sharp stripping peaks and a relatively constant peak potential with a good linear behaviour in the examined concentration range from 40 to 400 pg L^?1 for all metal ions investigated. The detection limit was found to be 0.45, 0.49 and 0.49 pg L^?1 (S/N=3) for Pd(II), Pt(II) and Rh(III), respectively. The developed electrochemical sensor also exhibited good precision with a relative standard deviation of 4.2 %, 2.55 % and 2.67 % for 5 successive measurements for Pd(II), Pt(II) and Rh(III), respectively. The proposed nanostructure showed good sensitivity and stability, which has promising potential applications in electrochemical sensors.     

Iridium Oxide Film Electrodes for Anodic Stripping Voltammetry

The new iridium oxide film electrode, applied for the determination of lead(II), cadmium(II) and copper(II) traces using differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry (DP ASV) is presented. The electrode display an interesting stripping voltammetric performance which compares with electrodes commonly used in voltammetry. The deposited film is known as anodically electrodeposited iridium oxide film (AEIROF). The AEIROF electrode is characterized by long‐term stability (more than 40 days) and very good reproducibility of the analytical signals in this time (≤12% for 0.5 μM of lead). The regeneration of iridium film is very simple in a time shorter than 60 seconds. The effects of various factors such as: thickness of AEIROF film, preconcentration potential and time, supporting electrolyte composition, potential interferences are optimized. The detection limit for AEIROF film electrode based on glassy carbon for an accumulation time of 30 s is as low as 7 nM for lead(II). The repeatability of the method at a concentration level of the lead(II) as low as 0.5 μM, expressed as RSD is 2.5% (n=10). The proposed method was successfully applied and validated by studying certified reference material CTA‐OTL‐1. Such an attractive use of ‘mercury–free’ ‐ environmentally friendly electrodes offers great promise to measure trace metals.     

Determining Trace Concentrations of Copper in Water by Cathodic Film Stripping Voltammetry with Adsorptive Collection

Abstract

A technique is presented for the determination of trace concentrations of copper (II) in natural water samples by cathodic stripping voltammetry of a film of copper-catechol complex ions adsorbed on the hanging mercury drop electrode. The peak height of the copper-catechol reduction peak is linearly dependent upon the copper (II) concentration between 10^?10 and 10^?7 M. The detection limit of the technique is below 10^?10 M copper (II) for a collection time of 3 minutes, but the sensitivity can be further increased four-fold by collecting for 15 minutes. The sensitivity is reduced by high concentrations of competing trace metals and of surfactants, which necessitate the use of standard additions to the sample.     

Highly Sensitive Differential Pulse Voltammetric Determination of Cd,Zn and Pb Ions in Water Samples Using Stable Carbon‐Based Mercury Thin‐Film Electrode

A new carbon‐based mercury thin‐film electrode consisting of screen‐printed carbon on a low temperature co‐fired ceramic substrate was made. Ex‐situ mercury deposition in a potassium thiocyanate solution was used. This approach an electrode with high long‐term stability (>500 measurement cycles) and reproducibility (≤2 %) for sensitive determination of ultra trace heavy metals, using differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry. The detection limits were 0.25, 0.08 and 5.5 ng mL^?1 for Cd(II), Pb(II), and Zn(II), respectively. The method was applied to the determination of the analytes in water, wastewater, lake water, and certified reference material samples with satisfactory results.     

Manganese Detection Using Stencil‐printed Carbon Ink Electrodes on Transparency Film

Mn concentrations were determined using square‐wave cathodic stripping voltammetry (CSV) with inexpensive, stencil‐printed carbon ink electrodes generated on polypropylene transparency films. Using an optimized pH 5 ammonium acetate buffer and addition of 1,4‐benzoquinone, a detection limit as low as 500 nM (30 ppb) was achieved. Addition of 1,4‐benzoquinone improved peak potential reproducibility and height, while addition of 3.5 % w/w sodium chloride to the background solution approximately doubled the sensitivity (μA/ppm). Tolerance tests with interfering metals were conducted and the method was found to be resilient to chromium(VI), iron(III), magnesium(II), nickel(II), and zinc(II), but susceptible to aluminum(III), copper(II), iron(II), and lead(II) at concentration ratios at or below one. This technique was successfully used to measure Mn levels in yerba mate and green tea samples as an example application.     

Simultaneous determination of chromium(III) and cadmium(II) by differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry on a stannum film electrode

A stannum film electrode has been developed for the simultaneous determination of trace levels of chromium(III) and cadmium(II) by differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry (DPASV). The stannum film electrode was generated in situ by depositing simultaneously the stannum film and the metals obtained by reduction of Cd(II) and Cr(III) at −1.4 V on a glassy carbon electrode. Then, the reduced products were oxidized by scanning the potential of the electrode from −1.4 to −0.4 V using DPASV. The electrode exhibited well-defined and separated stripping signals for both metals accompanied with a low background contribution. The possible mechanism of this design was proposed. Under the optimized working conditions, the detection limit was 2.0 and 1.1 μg l⁻¹ for Cr(III) and Cd(II) at a deposition time of 3 min. Finally, the stannum film electrode was successfully applied to the determination of Cd(II) in tap water with satisfactory results.     

Catalytic Adsorptive Stripping Chronopotentiometry of Co(II)‐DMG‐Bromate System at an In Situ Plated Lead Film Electrode

A novel catalytic adsorptive stripping chronopotentiometric (CC‐CAdSCP) procedure for the determination of Co(II) traces was developed using a lead film electrode (PbFE). The PbFE was generated in situ on a glassy carbon support from a 0.1 M ammonia buffer containing 1×10^?5 M Pb(II), 6.5×10^?5 M DMG and the target metals. An addition of 0.2 M NaBrO₃ to the solution yielded an 11‐fold catalytic enhancement of chronopotentiometric response of the Co(II)‐DMG complex. The CC‐CAdSCP curves were well‐developed, sharp and reproducible (RSD 5.0 % for 5×10^?9 M Co(II)). The limit of detection for Co(II) for 210 s of accumulation time was 4×10^?10 M (0.024 µg L^?1). In addition, the elaborated method allowed the simultaneous quantification of Co(II) and Ni(II) simultaneously.     

Nafion‐Coated Bismuth Film Electrodes for the Determination of Trace Lead and Cadmium in Herbal Medicines by Anodic Stripping Voltammetry

A novel analytical procedure for the determination of Pb(II) and Cd(II) in herbal medicines by differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry (DPASV) on Nafion‐coated bismuth film electrode (NCBFE) was proposed and experimentally validated. Various experimental parameters, which influenced the response of the NCBFE to these metals in real samples, were optimized. The results showed that there were well‐defined peaks of Pb and Cd in herb samples at deposition potential of ?1.2 V and deposition time of 300 s. The analytical performance of the NCBFE was evaluated in the presence of dissolved oxygen, with the determination limits of 0.35 µg·L^?1 for Pb and 0.72 µg·L^?1 for Cd and recoveries of 87.8% –105.4% for Pb and 89.5% –108.5% for Cd obtained from different samples. The Pb and Cd concentrations in the studied samples have been also determined by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GFAAS), suggesting that there was a satisfactory agreement between the two techniques, with relative errors lower than 6.5% in all cases. The great advantages of the proposed method over the spectroscopic method were characterized by its simplicity, selectivity and short analysis time, simultaneous analysis of different metals and cost‐efficiency.     

Simultaneous Determination of Cd(II), Cu(II), Pb(II) and Zn(II) in Human Plasma by Potentiometric Stripping Analysis

In this paper, Potentiometric Stripping Analysis (PSA) was simultaneously used to determine the concentrations of trace metals (Zn, Cd, Pb and Cu) in human plasma. The metal ions were concentrated as their amalgams on the glassy carbon surface of a working electrode that was previously coated with a thin mercury film and then stripped by a suitable oxidant. The selection of the experimental conditions was made by using the experimental‐designed methodology. The optimum conditions of the method includes a 0.2 M HAc‐NaAc buffer mixture (pH 4.5) as supporting electrolyte, and an electrolysis potential of‐1220 mV. The limits of detection (LOD) were obtained 1 μg L^?1 for Zn(II) and Pb(II), 0.5 μg L^?1 for Cu(II) and 2 μg L^?1 for Cd(II) in the studied medium. The good recoveries were obtained for the analysis in human plasma. The method was applied to blood samples, using the method of standard additions and the results were compared with Inductively Coupled Plasma‐Atomic Emission Spectrometry (ICP‐AES) as reference method. Furthermore, a simple digestion protocol of samples is investigated compared to the conventional digestion method.     

Sequential injection monosegmented flow voltammetric determination of cadmium and lead using a bismuth film working electrode

A cost-effective sequential injection monosegmented flow analysis (SI-MSFA) with anodic stripping voltammetric (ASV) detection has been developed for determination of Cd(II) and Pb(II). The bismuth film working electrode (BiFE) was employed for accumulative preconcentration of the metals by applying a fixed potential of −1.10 V versus Ag/AgCl electrode for 90 s. The SI-MSFA provides a convenient means for preparation of a homogeneous solution zone containing sample in an acetate buffer electrolyte solution and Bi(III) solution for in situ plating of BiFE, ready for ASV measurement at a flow through thin layer electrochemical cell. Under the optimum conditions, linear calibration graphs in range of 10-100 μg L⁻¹ of both Cd(II) and Pb(II) were obtained with detection limits of 1.4 and 6.9 μg L⁻¹ of Cd(II) and Pb(II), respectively. Relative standard deviations were 2.7 and 3.1%, for 11 replicate analyses of 25 μg L⁻¹ Cd(II) and 25 μg L⁻¹ Pb(II), respectively. A sample throughput of 12 h⁻¹ was achieved with low consumption of reagent and sample solutions. The system was successfully applied for analysis of water samples collected from a draining pond of zinc mining, validating by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) method.     

Anodic stripping voltammetry at a new type of disposable bismuth-plated carbon paste mini-electrodes

A new type of disposable carbon paste mini-electrodes (CPmEs), with dimensions in the 50-300 μm range, have been fabricated by heat-shrinking the end-tip of plastic micropipette tips and filling them with carbon paste. The CPmEs have been characterized by microscopic and electrochemical means and tested as substrates for in situ plated Bi film electrodes (BiF-CPmEs), used in the determination of heavy metals by square wave anodic stripping voltammetry (SWASV). It was found that this new class of CPmEs combines the advantages of carbon paste electrodes (readily renewable surface and high surface area) with those of near-microelectrode behaviour (no stirring or electrolyte excess needed). During SWASV experiments in unstirred Pb(II) and Cd(II) solutions well-shaped stripping peaks were obtained whose height varied linearly with analyte concentration in the wide 1 × 10⁻⁸ to 10⁻⁶ M range, both in acetate buffer and unbuffered solutions. Under optimal conditions detection limits of 8 × 10⁻¹⁰ and 1.3 × 10⁻⁹ M were achieved for Pb(II) and Cd(II), respectively and in a trial application, these metal ions have been determined in a spiked tap water sample using a BiF-CPmE.     

Exploiting flow injection and sequential injection anodic stripping voltammetric systems for simultaneous determination of some metals

Flow injection (FI) and sequential injection (SI) systems with anodic stripping voltammetric detection have been exploited for simultaneous determination of some metals. A pre-plated mercury film on a glassy carbon disc electrode was used as a working electrode in both systems. The same film can be repeatedly applied for at least 50 analysis cycles, thus reducing the mercury consumption and waste. A single line FI voltammetric system using an acetate buffer as a carrier and an electrolyte solution was employed. An injected standard/sample zone was mixed with the buffer in a mixing coil before entering a flow cell. Metal ions were deposited on the working electrode by applying a potential of −1.1 V vs Ag/AgCl reference electrode. The stripping was performed by anodically scanning potential of working electrode to +0.25 V, resulting a voltammogram. Effects of acetate buffer concentration, flow rate and sample volume were investigated. Under the selected condition, detection limits of 1 μg l⁻¹ for Cd(II), 18 μg l⁻¹ for Cu(II), 2 μg l⁻¹ for Pb(II) and 17 μg l⁻¹ for Zn(II) with precisions of 2–5% (n=11) were obtained. The SI voltammetric system was similar to the FI system and using an acetate buffer as a carrier solution. The SI system was operated by a PC via in-house written software and employing an autotitrator as a syringe pump. Standard/sample was aspirated and the zone was then sent to a flow cell for measurement. Detection limits for Cd(II), Cu(II), Pb(II) and Zn(II) were 6, 3, 10 and 470 μg l⁻¹, respectively. Applications to water samples were demonstrated. A homemade UV-digester was used for removing organic matters in the wastewater samples prior to analysis by the proposed voltammetric systems.     

Direct determination of cadmium and lead in pharmaceutical ingredients using anodic stripping voltammetry in aqueous and DMSO/water solutions

A new electrochemical method has been developed to detect and quantify the elemental impurities, cadmium(II) (Cd²⁺) and lead(II) (Pb²⁺), either simultaneously or individually in pharmaceutical matrices. The electro-analytical approach, involving the use of anodic stripping voltammetry (ASV) on an unmodified glassy carbon electrode, was performed in both aqueous and in a 95/5 dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO)/water solutions, without acid digestion or dry ashing to remove organic matrices. Limits of detection (LODs) in the μg L⁻¹ [or parts per billion (ppb), mass/volume] range were obtained for both heavy metals - in the presence and absence of representative pharmaceutical components. To the best of our knowledge, the work demonstrates the first analysis of heavy metals in DMSO/water solutions through ASV. The strong reproducibility and stability of the sensing platform, as well as obviation of sample pretreatment show the promise of utilizing ASV as a sensitive, robust, and inexpensive alternative to inductively-coupled-plasma (ICP)-based approaches for the analysis of elemental impurities in, e.g., pharmaceutical-related matrices.