Abstract
This article presents the development of a highly sensitive electrochemical heavy metal sensor based on hierarchical porous carbon electrodes with sponge-like edge structures. Micrometer-scale hierarchical nanoporous carbon electrodes were fabricated at a wafer-scale using cost-effective batch microfabrication technologies, including the carbon microelectromechanical systems technology and oxygen plasma etching. The sponge-like hierarchical porous structure and sub-micrometer edges of the nanoporous carbon electrodes facilitate fast electron transfer rate and large active sites, leading to the efficient formation of dense heavy metal alloy particles of small sizes during the preconcentration step. This enhanced the peak current response during the square wave anodic stripping voltammetry, enabling the detection of Cd(II) and Pb(II) at concentrations as low as 0.41 and 0.7 μg L−1, respectively, with high sensitivity per unit sensing area (Cd: 109.45 nA μg−1 L mm−2, Pb: 100.37 nA μg−1 L mm−2).
Highlights
Heavy metal ions can accumulate in the human body and cause serious damage to organs
We developed a highly sensitive heavy metal sensor based on patternable hierarchical nanoporous carbon electrode
Three types of carbon electrodes with different porosities and surface morphologies different surface morphologies were characterized by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and are categorized as bare carbon (BC), porous carbon (PC), and hierarchical porous carbona
Summary
Heavy metal ions can accumulate in the human body and cause serious damage to organs. The well-developed heavy metal analysis methods based on spectroscopy, such as inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, atomic absorption spectroscopy, and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy [3,4,5], can facilitate the detection of heavy metals at concentrations as low as parts per trillion in a laboratory [6]. These laboratory techniques require long analysis times and skilled personnel [7,8].
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