Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) nanorods/graphene oxide nanocomposite as a new electrode material for the selective electrochemical detection of mercury (II)

• Published in: Synthetic metals 2016-10, Vol.220, p.14-19
• Main Authors: Zuo, Yinxiu, Xu, Jingkun, Zhu, Xiaofei, Duan, Xuemin, Lu, Limin, Gao, Yansha, Xing, Huakun, Yang, Taotao, Ye, Guo, Yu, Yongfang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Electrochemical detection; Graphene; Graphene oxide; Interfacial polymerization; Mercury (metal); Mercury ions; Nanocomposites; Nanorods; Nanostructure; Oxides; Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene); Polymerization; Scanning electron microscopy
• ISSN: 0379-6779; 1879-3290
• DOI: 10.1016/j.synthmet.2016.05.022

[Display omitted] •High quality PEDOT-GO was prepared by simple interfacial polymerization.•PEDOT/GO was employed to construct electrochemical sensor for Hg2+ detection.•The electrochemical sensor showed good selectivity for Hg2+ detection.•Satisfactory results were obtained for detection of Hg2+ in real water sample s. Development of selective methods for the detection of mercury (Hg2+) has received tremendous attention in modern chemical research due to its health hazard and persistence in environment. In this paper, the electrochemical determination of Hg2+ at trace level based on poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) nanorods/graphene oxide nanocomposite modified glassy carbon electrode (PEDOT/GO/GCE) is reported. PEDOT/GO nanocomposite has been proposed via a simple liquid–liquid interfacial polymerization approach. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) were employed to characterize the morphology and structure of the as-prepared PEDOT/GO. The results revealed that PEDOT with a nanorods-like structure anchored on the surface of GO nanosheets, which could enhance the electro-active sites of the nanocomposite. Differential pulse stripping voltammetry (DPSV) was applied to determine low concentrations of Hg2+ on PEDOT/GO/GCE. Experimental conditions, including accumulation time, pH values and deposition potential were optimized. In optimal conditions, a good linear relationship was found between peak currents and the concentration of Hg2+ in 10.0 nM-3.0μM range. The detection limit was estimated to be 2.78nM at a signal-to-noise ratio of 3. Finally, the applicability for Hg2+ determination in tap water samples was successfully demonstrated.