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A nanocomposite consisting of porous graphitic carbon nitride nanosheets and oxidized multiwalled carbon nanotubes for simultaneous stripping voltammetric determination of cadmium(II), mercury(II), lead(II) and zinc(II)

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Abstract

A 3D nanocomposite consisting of porous graphitic carbon nitride nanosheets (p-g-C3N4-NSs) and oxidized multiwalled carbon nanotubes (O-MWCNTs) was prepared by simultaneous chemical oxidation of bulk g-C3N4 and bulk MWCNTs. This one-step oxidation results in the formation of acidic functional groups on the basal surfaces of both g-C3N4 and MWCNTs. Simultaneously, the O-MWCNTs are incorporated in-situ on the porous structure of p-g-C3N4. The acid functionalization and surface morphology of the nanocomposite were examined using attenuated total reflectance infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. The nanocomposite was used to modify a screen-printed electrode (SPE) which then was studied by using cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and differential pulse voltammetry. The modified SPE exhibits excellent sensitivity and selectivity towards the simultaneous detection of the heavy metal ions Cd(II), Hg(II), Pb(II) and Zn(II), typically at −0.78, +0.35, −0.5 and − 1.16 V (vs. Ag/AgCl). The detection limits (at S/N = 3) range between 8 and 60 ng L−1 under conditions of stripping analysis. The method was applied to the simultaneous detection of these ions in various (spiked) food samples. The results demonstrated the good accuracy and reproducibility of the method.

Schematic of a highly sensitive and selective electrochemical method for the simultaneous detection of four heavy metals. It is based on the use of a screen printed electrode (SPE) modified with 3D porous g-C3N4 and O-MWCNTs, and of anodic stripping voltammetry.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank the Ministry of Science and Technology-Taiwan (MOST105-2113-M-037-019-MY2), Kaohsiung Medical University (KMU)-Taiwan and Research Center for Environmental Medicine-KMU, Taiwan for research grant supports.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medicinal and Applied Chemistry, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung City-807, Taiwan

    Manikandan Ramalingam & Vinoth Kumar Ponnusamy

  2. Research Center for Environmental Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung City-807, Taiwan

    Vinoth Kumar Ponnusamy

  3. Department of Analytical Chemistry, School of Chemical Sciences, University of Madras, Guindy Campus, Chennai City, Tamil Nadu, 600 025, India

    Sriman Narayanan Sangilimuthu

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  1. Manikandan Ramalingam
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  2. Vinoth Kumar Ponnusamy
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  3. Sriman Narayanan Sangilimuthu
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Correspondence to Vinoth Kumar Ponnusamy.

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Ramalingam, M., Ponnusamy, V. & Sangilimuthu, S. A nanocomposite consisting of porous graphitic carbon nitride nanosheets and oxidized multiwalled carbon nanotubes for simultaneous stripping voltammetric determination of cadmium(II), mercury(II), lead(II) and zinc(II). Microchim Acta 186, 69 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00604-018-3178-7

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