Abstract
Trace determination of radioactive waste, especially Ce3+, by electrochemical methods has rarely been attempted. Ce3+ is (i) a fluorescence quencher, (ii) an antiferromagnet, and (iii) a superconductor, and it has been incorporated into fast scintillators, LED phosphors, and fluorescent lamps. Although Ce3+ has been utilized in many industries due to its specific properties, it causes severe health problems to human beings because of its toxicity. Nanomaterials with fascinating electrical properties can play a vital role in the fabrication of a sensor device to detect the analyte of interest. In the present study, surfactant-free 1,8-diaminonaphthalene (DAN)-functionalized graphene quantum dots (DAN-GQDs) with nanobud (NB) morphology were utilized for the determination of Ce3+ through electrochemical studies. The working electrode, graphene nanobud (GNB)-modified-carbon felt (CF), was developed by a simple drop-coating method for the sensitive detection of Ce3+ in acetate buffer solution (ABS, pH 4.0 ± 0.05) at a scan rate of 50 mV s−1 using cyclic voltammetry (CV) and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) techniques. CV and DPV studies validated the existence of distinctive peaks at approximately +0.20 and +0.93 V (vs. SCE), respectively, with a limit of detection of approximately 2.60 μM. Furthermore, electrochemical studies revealed that the GNB-modified-CF electrode was (i) stable even after fifteen cycles, (ii) reproducible, (iii) selective towards Ce3+, (iv) strongly pH-dependent, and (v) favored Ce3+ sensing only at pH 4.0 ± 0.05. Impedance spectroscopy results indicated that the GNB-modified-CF electrode was more conductive (1.38 × 10−4 S m−1) and exhibited more rapid electron transfer than bare CF, which agrees with the attained Randles equivalent circuit. Microscopy (AFM, FE-SEM, and HR-TEM), spectroscopy (XPS and Raman), XRD, and energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) analyses of the GNB-modified-CF electrode confirmed the adsorption of Ce3+ onto the electrode surface and the size of the electrode material. Ce3+ nanobuds increased from 35–40 to 50–55 nm without changing their morphology. The obtained results provide an insight into the determination of Ce3+ to develop an electrochemical device with low sensitivity.
Highlights
Cerium is one of the utmost copious elements of the lanthanum series and most widely distributed among the rare earth elements, with a presence in the Earth's crust at an average of 22 mg kgÀ1.1,2 Elemental cerium is an iron-gray, ductile, malleable metal
Based on the above exploration and continuation of our study on multifunctional sensors,[23,25,32,33,34] we report the detection of Ce3+ using a graphene nanobud (GNB)-modi edcarbon felt (CF) electrode as a working electrode in acetate buffer solution (ABS) at a pH of 4.0 Æ 0.05 using cyclic voltammetry (CV) and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) techniques
The electrode material, 1,8-diaminonaphthalene (DAN)-Graphene quantum dots (GQD), in nanobud morphology was synthesized without using any surfactant in an aqueous medium and was systematically characterized by standard physiochemical techniques,[25] which is shown in the Electronic supplementary information (ESI) (Fig. SI1).†
Summary
Cerium is one of the utmost copious elements of the lanthanum series and most widely distributed among the rare earth elements, with a presence in the Earth's crust at an average of 22 mg kgÀ1.1,2 Elemental cerium is an iron-gray, ductile, malleable metal. Cerium metal is very reactive and a strong oxidizing agent that is stabilized when connected with an oxygen ligand.[3] Ce3+ is known as a uorescence quencher, and due to its idiosyncratic properties, it has many potential applications in chemical and metallurgical engineering, agriculture, catalytic conversions, selective oxidation of hydrocarbons, nuclear energy, microelectronics, therapeutic application, and magnetism.[2,4,5] Because it has been immensely used, there is an. Paper escalating demand to study the effects of cerium in medical, biological, and environmental applications.[6]. Accumulation toxicity is usually associated with cerium, and it affects the immune system, skin, bone organization, liver, heart, and central nervous system,[7] and leads to a host of diseases such as leukemia, skin lesions, acute myocardial infarction, and abnormal blood biochemical indices.[8,9] developing a fast, reliable, sensitive, and selective method for the detection of cerium is a real challenge for researchers around the globe
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