Cadmium-Sensitive Measurement Using a Nano-Copper-Enhanced Carbon Fiber Electrode

• Main Authors: Jian Wu, Zhipeng Xu, Xian Wang, Li Wang, Huadong Qiu, Kechao Lu, Wenhong Zhang, Qing Feng, Jun Chen, Lei Yang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2019-11-01
• Series: Sensors
• Subjects: cadmium ion; carbon fiber electrode; nano-copper; sensitivity for cadmium ion detection; charge transferability
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/19/22/4901
• ISSN: 1424-8220

Enrichment of cadmium ion (Cd²⁺) from the environment may lead to kidney disease and weakened immunity in the body. Current techniques are not convenient enough to measure Cd²⁺ concentration in the environment due to low sensitivity and poor linear range. In this paper, a new measurement technique is proposed using a new sensing electrode made of nano-copper-enhanced carbon fiber. Nano-copper was deposited onto the surface of carbon fiber to enhance the current concentration and mass transfer rate of Cd²⁺ during measurement, which improved the electrochemical detection sensitivity significantly (by up to 3.7 × 10⁸ nA/nM) and broadened the linear range to 10~10⁵ nM. This device provides a low-cost solution for measuring Cd²⁺ concentration in the environment.