Electrochemical Sensing of Lead in Drinking Water Using Copper Foil Bonded with Polymer

Levels of lead (Pb) in tap water that are well below established guidelines are now considered harmful, so the detection of sub-parts-per-billion (ppb) Pb levels is crucial. In this work, we developed a two-step, facile, and inexpensive fabrication approach that involves direct bonding of copper (Cu...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) Switzerland), 2023-01, Vol.23 (3), p.1424
Main Authors: Redhwan, Taufique Z, Ali, Younus, Howlader, Matiar M R, Haddara, Yaser M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Carbon
Chemical sensors
Drinking water
electrochemical sensor
Electrodes
Electrolytes
Gold
Graphene
Heavy metals
lead detection
Liquid crystal polymers
Liquid crystals
Metal foils
Nanomaterials
Oxygen plasma
Peel strength
Plasma etching
Polyester resins
polymer
Polymer industry
Polymers
rolled-annealed copper
Screen printing
Selectivity
Sensors
surface activated bonding
Thin films
Transistors
Water quality
water quality monitoring
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Levels of lead (Pb) in tap water that are well below established guidelines are now considered harmful, so the detection of sub-parts-per-billion (ppb) Pb levels is crucial. In this work, we developed a two-step, facile, and inexpensive fabrication approach that involves direct bonding of copper (Cu) and liquid crystal polymer (LCP) followed by polyester resin printing for masking onto Cu/LCP to fabricate Cu thin-film-based Pb sensors. The oxygen plasma-treated surfaces resulted in strongly bonded Cu/LCP with a high peel strength of 500 N/m due to the highly hydrophilic nature of both surfaces. The bonded specimen can withstand wet etching of the electrode and can address delamination of the electrode for prolonged use in application environments. The Cu-foil-based electrochemical sensor showed sensitivity of ~11 nA/ppb/cm and a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.2 ppb (0.2 µg/L) Pb ions in water. The sensor required only 30 s and a 100 µL sample to detect Pb. To date, this is the most rapid detection of Pb performed using an all-Cu-based sensor. The selectivity test of Cu to Pb with interferences from cadmium and zinc showed that their peaks were separated by a few hundred millivolts. This approach has strong potential towards realizing low-cost, highly reliable integrated water quality monitoring systems.
ISSN:1424-8220
1424-8220
DOI:10.3390/s23031424