Review—Application of Deficient Apatites Materials in Electrochemical Detection of Heavy Metals: Case of Mercury (II) in Seawater and Fish Samples

Abstract

Contamination by metallic trace elements is considered a serious problem considering their toxicity and their cumulative power in the food chain. These heavy metals such as mercury (II) are thus monitored and recognized today as pollutants dangerous for humans and their environment. In this review, we look back at 10 years of our dedicated research, and summarize the main advances made in terms of exploitation of apatitic materials for the detection of heavy metals. Recent trends in the application of apatite compounds for electrochemical detection of heavy metals are shown. In this perspective, the present work focuses on the development of electrochemical sensors based on new deficient apatites materials. The proposed sensors revealed a high efficiency for the analysis of mercury ions with a stable and amplified signal. This latter has been optimized by varying the nature and content of the substituents in the gap apatite structure. The adsorption characteristics of these materials serve to trap inorganic micropollutant like mercury. Moreover, the modification of the surface properties of graphite carbon electrodes by newly lacunar apatites has served to control the quality of seawater and fish samples with satisfactory results.