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. 2020 Jul 16;13(14):3168.
doi: 10.3390/ma13143168.

Electrochemical Detection of Arsenite Using a Silica Nanoparticles-Modified Screen-Printed Carbon Electrode

Suhainie Ismail  1 , Nor Azah Yusof  1   2 , Jaafar Abdullah  1   2 , Siti Fatimah Abd Rahman  1
Affiliations

Electrochemical Detection of Arsenite Using a Silica Nanoparticles-Modified Screen-Printed Carbon Electrode

Suhainie Ismail et al. Materials (Basel). .

Abstract

Arsenic poisoning in the environment can cause severe effects on human health, hence detection is crucial. An electrochemical-based portable assessment of arsenic contamination is the ability to identify arsenite (As(III)). To achieve this, a low-cost electroanalytical assay for the detection of As(III) utilizing a silica nanoparticles (SiNPs)-modified screen-printed carbon electrode (SPCE) was developed. The morphological and elemental analysis of functionalized SiNPs and a SiNPs/SPCE-modified sensor was studied using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The electrochemical responses towards arsenic detection were measured using the cyclic voltammetry (CV) and linear sweep anodic stripping voltammetry (LSASV) techniques. Under optimized conditions, the anodic peak current was proportional to the As(III) concentration over a wide linear range of 5 to 30 µg/L, with a detection limit of 6.2 µg/L. The suggested approach was effectively valid for the testing of As(III) found within the real water samples with good reproducibility and stability.

Keywords: arsenite; electrochemical sensor; screen-printed carbon electrode; silica nanoparticles.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Schematic representation of the fabrication process of the silica nanoparticles (SiNPs)/screen-printed carbon electrode (SPCE) electrochemical sensor.
Figure 2
Figure 2
(a) TEM image, (b) FESEM image and the EDX profile (inset), (c) FTIR spectra, and (d) XRD pattern of the synthesized SiNPs.
Figure 3
Figure 3
FESEM images coupled with EDX spectra for the (a) bare SPCE and (b) SiNPs/SPCE.
Figure 4
Figure 4
(a) Cyclic voltammetry (CV) responses of the a) bare SPCE and b) SiNPs/SPCE. (b) Nyquist plots of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) for the a) bare SPCE and b) SiNPs/SPCE. The inset shows the Nyquist plot of the SiNPs/SPCE.
Figure 5
Figure 5
CV responses at different scan rates for the (a) bare SPCE and (b) SiNPs/SPCE. The insets show the corresponding linear calibration plot of the peak current against square root of the scan rate.
Figure 5
Figure 5
CV responses at different scan rates for the (a) bare SPCE and (b) SiNPs/SPCE. The insets show the corresponding linear calibration plot of the peak current against square root of the scan rate.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Effect of the (a) supporting electrolyte, (b) pH, (c) deposition potential, and (d) deposition time on the voltammetric response of the SiNPs/SPCE in the presence of 1 mg/L As(III).
Figure 7
Figure 7
(a) Linear sweep anodic stripping voltammetry (LSASV) responses of the bare SPCE and SiNPs/SPCE in the presence of 1 mg/L As(III) in 1 M HCl solution (pH 1). (b) LSASV sensing mechanism of the SiNPs/SPCE towards As(III) detection. (c) LSASV responses of the SiNPs/SPCE towards As(III) in a concentration range of 5 to 30 µg/L and (d) the corresponding linear calibration plots of the net current against As(III) concentrations.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Interference study of the SiNPs/SPCE in the presence of various competitive foreign ions.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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