Electroactive behavior assessment of poly(acrylic acid)‐graphene oxide composite hydrogel in the detection of cadmium

Abstract

ABSTRACTSuper absorbent polymers of acrylic acid‐graphene oxide (PAA‐GO) were synthesized with different percentage of chemical neutralization (0, 10, and 20%) of the acrylic acid monomer before its polymerization. The influence of their swelling and adsorption/desorption capacity of cadmium ions in aqueous solutions were studied and revealed that the GO enables greater mechanical stability in the materials. The PAA hydrogels, with the same degrees of neutralization, were also prepared without GO to compare with the composites. Additionally, carbon paste electrodes (CPE) modified with the composites PAA‐GO were used to asses and compare their adsorption properties with cadmium(II). The anodic stripping voltammetry (ASV) peak, in the differential pulse voltammetry mode, for cadmium oxidation was found to be influenced by the presence of GO into the polymer, and also by their percentage of neutralization. The accumulation of cadmium(II) on the surface of the modified CPEs was performed under open‐circuit conditions taking an account the preconcentration time of the metal cation. The presence of GO enhances the electrical signal of the electrodes in short times of immersion in cadmium(II) solutions. This property contributed to get linear responses of the CPEs modified with the composites, which were influenced by their degrees of neutralization. The PAA‐GO 10N electrode with 10% of neutralization combined the influence of GO and the degree of neutralization in the same matrix, and also showed good performance in terms of its mechanical stability, it was chosen for preliminary studies on the selectivity of the electrode toward Zn(II) and Cu(II). © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014, 131, 40846.