Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Voltammetric determination of total dissolved iron in coastal waters using a glassy carbon electrode modified with reduced graphene oxide, Methylene Blue and gold nanoparticles

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Microchimica Acta Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

A nanocomposite, prepared from reduced graphene oxide (rGO), Methylene Blue (MB) and gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), was used to modify a glassy carbon electrode for the determination of total dissolved iron by differential pulse voltammetry. The use of rGO warrants a larger electrode surface and the presence of more active sites, while electron transfer is accelerated by incorporating AuNPs. MB acts as an electron mediator, as an anchor for the AuNPs (which were grown in situ), and also prevents the aggregation of rGO. The modified electrode displayed a remarkably improved sensitivity and selectivity for Fe(III). The kinetics of the electrode reaction is adsorption-controlled, and the reversible process involves one proton and one electron. The response to Fe(III) is linear in the 0.3 to 100 μM concentration range, and the detection limit is 15 nM. Possible interferences by other ions were studied. The electrode was successfully applied to the determination of total dissolved iron in real coastal waters.

An electrode modified with a composite consisting of reduced graphene oxide, Methylene Blue, and gold nanoparticles was fabricated for determination of trace levels of Fe(III) in coastal waters by differential pulse voltammetry.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Taylor S (1964) Abundance of chemical elements in the continental crust: a new table. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 28:1273–1285

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Sunda WG, Huntsman SA (1995) Iron uptake and growth limitation in oceanic and coastal phytoplankton. Mar Chem 50:189–206

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Dallman PR, Yip R, Oski F (1993) Iron deficiency and related nutritional anemias. Hematology of infancy and childhood 4:413

  4. Lu M, Rees NV, Kabakaev AS, Compton RG (2012) Determination of iron: electrochemical methods. Electroanalysis 24:1693–1702

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Martin JH, Fitzwater S (1988) Iron deficiency limits phytoplankton growth in the north-east Pacific subarctic. Nature 331:947–975

    Google Scholar 

  6. Sunda WG (2001) Bioavailability and bioaccumulation of iron in the sea. IUPAC Ser Anal Phys Chem Environ Syst 7:41–84

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Asan A, Andac M, Isildak I, Tinkilic N (2008) Flow injection spectrophotometric determination of iron (III) using diphenylamine-4-sulfonic acid sodium salt. Chem Pap 62:345–349

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Cha KW, Park KW (1998) Determination of iron (III) with salicylic acid by the fluorescence quenching method. Talanta 46:1567–1571

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Freschi GPG, Freschi CD, Neto JAG (2008) Evaluation of different rhodium modifiers and coatings on the simultaneous determination of As, Bi, Pb, Sb, Se and of Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn in milk by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry. Microchim Acta 161:129–135

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Cui Y, Hu ZJ, Yang JX, Gao HW (2012) Novel phenyl-iminodiacetic acid grafted multiwalled carbon nanotubes for solid phase extraction of iron, copper and lead ions from aqueous medium. Microchim Acta 176:359–366

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. de Jong J, Schoemann V, Lannuzel D, Tison JL, Mattielli N (2008) High-accuracy determination of iron in seawater by isotope dilution multiple collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ID-MC-ICP-MS) using nitrilotriacetic acid chelating resin for pre-concentration and matrix separation. Anal Chim Acta 623:126–139

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Bowie AR, Achterberg EP, Mantoura RFC, Paul JW (1998) Determination of sub-nanomolar levels of iron in seawater using flow injection with chemiluminescence detection. Anal Chim Acta 361:189–200

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Lu GH, Yao X, Wu XG, Zhan T (2001) Determination of the total iron by chitosan-modified glassy carbon electrode. Microchem J 69:81–87

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Shervedani RK, Hatefi-Mehrjardi A, Asadi-Farsani A (2007) Sensitive determination of iron(III) by gold electrode modified with 2-mercaptosuccinic acid self-assembled monolayer. Anal Chim Acta 601:164–171

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Rue EL, Bruland KW (1995) Complexation of iron (III) by natural organic ligands in the Central North Pacific as determined by a new competitive ligand equilibration/adsorptive cathodic stripping voltammetric method. Mar Chem 50:117–138

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Den Van Berg C, Nimmo M, Abollino O, Mentasti E (1991) The determination of trace levels of iron in seawater, using adsorptive cathodic stripping voltammetry. Electroanalysis 3:477–484

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Gledhill M, van den Berg CM (1994) Determination of complexation of iron (III) with natural organic complexing ligands in seawater using cathodic stripping voltammetry. Mar Chem 47:41–54

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Croot P, Johansson M (2000) Determination of iron speciation by cathodic stripping voltammetry in seawater using the competing ligand 2‐(2‐Thiazolylazo)‐p‐cresol (TAC). Electroanalysis 12:565–576

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. van den Berg CMG (2006) Chemical speciation of iron in seawater by cathodic stripping voltammetry with dihydroxynaphthalene. Anal Chem 78:156–163

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Palmer RF, Blanchard S, Stein Z, Mandell D, Miller C (2006) Environmental mercury release, special education rates, and autism disorder: an ecological study of Texas. Health Place 12:203–209

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Segura R, Toral MI, Arancibia V (2008) Determination of iron in water samples by adsorptive stripping voltammetry with a bismuth film electrode in the presence of 1-(2-piridylazo)-2-naphthol. Talanta 75:973–977

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Zakharova E, Elesova E, Noskova G, Lu M, Compton R (2012) Direct voltammetric determination of total iron with a gold microelectrode ensemble. Electroanalysis 24:2061–2069

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Liu H, Gao J, Xue M, Zhu N, Zhang M, Cao T (2009) Processing of graphene for electrochemical application: noncovalently functionalize graphene sheets with water-soluble electroactive methylene green. Langmuir 25:12006–12010

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Han H, Pan D, Wu X, Zhang Q, Zhang H (2014) Synthesis of graphene/methylene blue/gold nanoparticles composites based on simultaneous green reduction, in situ growth and self-catalysis. J Mater Sci 49:4796–4806

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Baca AJ, Zhou FM, Wang J, Hu JB, Li JH, Wang JX, Chikneyan ZS (2004) Attachment of ferrocene-capped gold nanoparticle-streptavidin conjugates onto electrode surfaces covered with biotinylated biomolecules for enhanced voltammetric analysis. Electroanalysis 16:73–80

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Zhou M, Zhai Y, Dong S (2009) Electrochemical sensing and biosensing platform based on chemically reduced graphene oxide. Anal Chem 81:5603–5613

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Ge SG, Yan M, Lu JJ, Zhang M, Yu F, Yu JH, Song XR, Yu SL (2012) Electrochemical biosensor based on graphene oxide–Au nanoclusters composites for L-cysteine analysis. Biosens Bioelectron 31:49–54

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  28. Fu XL, Chen LX, Li JH (2012) Ultrasensitive colorimetric detection of heparin based on self-assembly of gold nanoparticles on graphene oxide. Analyst 137:3653–3658

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  29. Liu YX, Dong XC, Chen P (2012) Biological and chemical sensors based on graphene materials. Chem Soc Rev 41:2283–2307

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  30. Zhang Y, Liu L, Xi F, Wu TX, Lin XF (2010) A simple layer-by-layer assembly strategy for a reagentless biosensor based on a nanocomposite of methylene blue-multiwalled carbon nanotubes. Electroanalysis 22:277–285

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  31. Burke LD (2004) Scope for new applications for gold arising from the electrocatalytic behaviour of its metastable surface states. Gold Bull 37:125–135

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  32. Huang KJ, Xu CX, Xie WZ, Wang W (2009) Electrochemical behavior and voltammetric determination of tryptophan based on 4-aminobenzoic acid polymer film modified glassy carbon electrode. Colloids Surf B: Biointerfaces 74:167–171

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  33. Nicholson RS (1965) Theory and application of cyclic voltammetry for measurement of electrode reaction kinetics. Anal Chem 37:1351–1355

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  34. Laviron E (1974) Adsorption, autoinhibition and autocatalysis in polarography and in linear potential sweep voltammetry. J Electroanal Chem Interfacial Electrochem 52:355–393

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  35. Chu X, Fu X, Chen K, Shen GL, Yu RQ (2005) An electrochemical stripping metalloimmunoassay based on silver-enhanced gold nanoparticle label. Biosens Bioelectron 20:1805–1812

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This study was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41276093), the Youth Innovation Promotion Association and the Outstanding Young Scientists Program of CAS.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Coastal Environmental Processes and Ecological Remediation, Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences; Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Coastal Environmental Processes, Yantai, Shandong, 264003, People’s Republic of China

    Mingyue Lin, Haitao Han, Dawei Pan & Haiyun Zhang

  2. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, People’s Republic of China

    Mingyue Lin & Haiyun Zhang

  3. School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Yantai University, Yantai, 264005, People’s Republic of China

    Haitao Han & Zhencui Su

Authors
  1. Mingyue Lin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Haitao Han
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Dawei Pan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Haiyun Zhang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Zhencui Su
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Dawei Pan.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Lin, M., Han, H., Pan, D. et al. Voltammetric determination of total dissolved iron in coastal waters using a glassy carbon electrode modified with reduced graphene oxide, Methylene Blue and gold nanoparticles. Microchim Acta 182, 805–813 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00604-014-1391-6

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00604-014-1391-6

Keywords

Search

Navigation