Electroanalysis of As(iii) at nanodendritic Pd on PEDOT

Abstract

Nanodendritic Pd electrodeposited on poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) modified Pd nanodendrite electrodes has been studied for electroanalysis of As(III) in 1 M HCl solution. The Pd nanodendrites are grown on a porous thin film of PEDOT by electrodeposition process. Pd-PEDOT/C electrodes are characterized by physicochemical and electrochemical studies. Cyclic voltammetry studies show that Pd-PEDOT/C electrodes exhibit greater electrocatalytic activity towards As(iii)/As(0) redox reaction than the Pd/C electrodes. Differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry (DPASV) is performed for analysis of As(iii) ion at pH 1.0. The Pd-PEDOT/C electrode is highly sensitive towards As(III) detection with sensitivity of 1482 μA cm(-2) μM(-1). A wide detection range up to 10 μM and low detection limit of 7 nM (0.52 ppb) are obtained with a pre-deposition time of 120 s under optimum conditions. High sensitivity and low detection limit obtained on Pd-PEDOT/C, for the first time in the literature, are attractive from a practical view point. Interference studies of Cu(II) ions are investigated and it is observed that Cu(II) ions do not interfere.