Electrochemical solid-phase nanoextraction of copper(II) on a magnesium oxinate-modified carbon paste electrode by cyclic voltammetry

Abstract

Solid-phase nanoextraction is a sample preparation technique, which combines nanotechnology with analytical chemistry, and brings analytical chemistry to a higher level, particularly for complex system analysis. This paper describes a typical example of electrochemical solid-phase nanoextraction and electrochemical detection. Trace amounts of copper (5.0 × 10−13 mol/L) were extracted by electrochemical solid-phase nanoextraction on to the magnesium oxinate nanoparticle-modified carbon paste electrode surface in a pH 7.2 phosphate buffer system at −0.50 V for 100 s. The extraction is achieved by the cation exchange between copper(II) in the aqueous solution and magnesium(II) from the magnesium oxinate nanoparticles on the electrode surface. The extracted copper shows an irreversible anodic peak at about 0.2 V (vs. saturated calomel electrode). The peak current is proportional to the scan rate, which shows this to be a surface-controlled process. The oxidation peak current is proportional to the logarithm of the copper concentration in the range 5.0 × 10−13 ∼ 5.0 × 10−7 M with a slope of 2.215. This powerful method uses the carbon paste electrode to combine extraction with electrochemical analysis.