Evaluation of a Reduced Graphene Oxide-Sb Nanoparticles Electrochemical Sensor for the Detection of Cadmium and Lead in Chamomile Tea
Erik W. Nunes, Martin K. L. Silva, Ivana Cesarino
Abstract
The development of electroanalytical sensors for heavy metals detection in complex matrices holds great interest. Herein, a sensor based on a reduced graphene oxide (rGO) modified with antimony nanoparticles (Sb) was developed for the electrochemical detection of divalent cadmium ions (Cd2+) and lead ions (Pb2+). The simultaneous determination of both metals covered a range of 0.1 to 3.0 µmol L−1, with limits of detection (LOD) of 70.03 and 45.50 nmol L−1 for Cd2+ and Pb2+, respectively. For the individual detection, LOD of 20.50 nmol L−1 (Cd2+) and 2.01 nmol L−1 (Pb2+) were found. The analytical performance of this new sensor in detecting both metals in chamomile tea samples was satisfactorily evaluated.