Determination of copper ion by square wave anodic stripping voltammetry at antimony trioxide-modified carbon nanotube paste electrode

In this work, an antimony trioxide-modified multi-walled carbon nanotube paste electrode (Sb₂O₃/CNTPE) was employed for determination of Cu²⁺ ions by using square wave anodic stripping voltammetry (SWASV) in the presence of 8-hydroxy-7-iodo-5-quinoline sulfonic acid (HIQSA) as a chelating agent. The field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) methods were applied to estimate the morphology and properties of the modified electrode. Measurements related to SWASV were taken in 0.6 M HCl at ?1.0 V versus Ag|AgCl|KCl (3 M) for 90 s (deposition step). After equilibrium time of 15 s, an ASV appeared at 0.0 V versus Ag|AgCl|KCl (3 M) (stripping step). The sensor depicted a fairly linear response for Cu²⁺ in the concentration range of 2–100 ppb with appropriate detection limit about 0.39 ppb and limit of quantification about 1.3 ppb. The stability of the modified electrode during 7 weeks and its behavior in the presence of some metal ions was evaluated. The practical applicability of the Sb₂O₃/CNTPE was established on the voltammetric determination of Cu²⁺ in tap water as a sample.