Electrochemical Determination of Cu(II) Ions in Chloride‐Rich Environment Using Polyviologen‐Modified Glassy Carbon Electrodes

Polyviologen was formed on glassy carbon electrodes using potentiostatic electropolymerization in pH 4.2 Britton‐Robinson buffer solution. The polyviologen‐modified glassy carbon electrode (PVGCE) was employed to determine Cu(II) in chloride‐rich solutions in order to demonstrate the electroanalytical application of polyviologen. The PVGCE was found capable of enhancing the detection limit of Cu(II) in chloride‐rich environment because of the anion‐exchange feature of the polymer film. Cathodic stripping square‐wave voltammetry (CSSWV) was employed to determine Cu(II). The dependence of the cathodic stripping current on the concentration of Cu(II) was linear from 0.06 ppm to 9.53 ppm with a regression coefficient of 0.999. The detection limit is 0.02 ppm (σ = 3). Regeneration of the PVGCE can be achieved by simply immersing the electrode in a stirred 0.5 M NaCl solution.