High-sensitivity determination of Pb(II) and Cd(II) on a glassy carbon electrode modified with polypyrrole/sepiolite nanofibers

Polypyrrole-sepiolite (PPy/SPL) nanofibers were prepared by in situ chemical oxidation polymerization in the presence of sepiolite. A PPy/SPL composite modified glassy carbon electrode (PPy/SPL/GCE) was prepared and characterized by scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and electrochemical methods. Differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry for the simultaneous determination of trace Pb(II) and Cd(II) was carried out at the PPy/SPL/GCE. Operational parameters such as the deposition potential and time, the amount of modified suspension, and the pH values were optimized for the purpose of determination of trace metal ions in 0.10 M acetate buffer solution. Under the optimal conditions, the stripping peak currents showed good linear relationships with Pb(II) and Cd(II) at concentration ranges of 5.0 × 10^–9?1.2 × 10^–6 M and 5.0 × 10^–9?1.2 × 10^–7 M, and the detection limits were 1.2 and 1.5 nM, respectively. The proposed method is applicable to the simultaneous determination of trace Pb(II) and Cd(II) in real water samples with the relative standard deviations of less than 4.4% and the recovery rates of 97.9?102.2%.