Abstract
Seaweed is well known about for potential in chelating heavy metals. In this study, carbon paste electrodes were fabricated with siphonous seaweed Acetabularia acetabulum as the modifiers to sense lead (II) and copper (II) by square‐wave anodic stripping voltammetry. Various scan rates and deposition potentials were measured to obtain the optimal peak current for Pb(II) and Cu(II). Optimum conditions of Acetabularia‐CPE for sensing Pb(II) were at the scan rate of 75 mV/s and deposition potential of −800 mV, while for Cu(II) sensing were at 100 mV/s and −300 mV, respectively. The electrodes were characterized by the duration of accumulation time, preconcentration over a range of standards, supporting electrolyte, and standard solutions of various pH values. Interference studies were carried out. Both Zn(II) and Cu(II) were found to interfere with Pb(II) sensing, whereas only Zn(II) causes interference with Cu(II) sensing. The electrode was found to have good regeneration ability via electrochemical cleaning. Preliminary testing of complex samples such as NPK fertilisers, black soil, and sea salt samples was included.
Highlights
Aims and Objectives The main aim of this study is to develop a low-cost carbon paste electrode (CPE) modified with nucleophilic molecules for the voltammetric determination of copper and lead ions in aqueous samples
Pure nitrogen was bubbled into the supporting electrolyte for two minutes to purge out other dissolved gases, especially oxygen that may interfere with the Cyclic Voltammetry (CV) [34]
The range of CV was set to run in positive initial direction from −1100 mV to +1400 mV, for one cycle at a scan rate of 100 mV/s
Summary
Ozer et al reported that the cell wall of green algae, Cladophora crispata, contained polysaccharide that provided the amino, carboxyl, hydroxyl, phosphoryl, and sulphate groups for metal binding [8]. Vasconcelos and Leal mentioned that proteins, lipids, and nucleic acid that are present on the cell membrane of Journal of Chemistry the macroalgae contain amine, carboxyl, imidazole, thiol, thioester, and the nitrogen and oxygen of peptidic bindings, which can bind metal ions [11] These qualities of binding trace element make algae an exciting material for fabrication of sensors. Acetabularia was reported to contain 12.3 μg g−1 dry weight of cadmium, 100 μg g−1 copper, 390 μg g−1 iron, and 151 μg g−1 zinc [17] This finding proved that the Acetabularia acetabulum is capable of accumulating heavy metals. Lead can enter the human system through several pathways, for example, the inhalation of dust and polluted air, through the dietary intake of food, water, and medicines, and uses of pottery and porcelain products [32, 33]
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