Ultra-sensitive detection of multiplexed heavy metal ions by MOF-derived carbon film encapsulating BiCu alloy nanoparticles in potable electrochemical sensing system

In this work, we report the development of a new type of highly active and stable Bi-based electrode material , i.e. , BiCu metal-organic frames (MOF) derived carbon film (CF) encapsulating BiCu alloy nanoparticles (BiCu-ANPs) for electrochemical sensing. The integration of Bi with Cu to form BiCu-ANPs can improve their electrocatalytic activity as well as the acid resistance. Meanwhile, the carbon film that encapsulates BiCu-ANPs not only guarantees the BiCu-ANPs with high electrical conductivity and fast electrochemical kinetics but also effectively alleviates the volume change during the adsorption and desorption of heavy metal (HM) ions. Therefore, the as-obtained CF encapsulating BiCu-ANPs (BiCu-ANPs@CF) exhibits fully exposed active sites, facile charge transfer, high stability and conductivity, which gives rise to enhanced sensitivity and stability for the electrochemical detection of HM ions. When integrated into a potable electrochemical sensing system for simultaneous detection of Pb 2+ , Cd 2+ and Zn 2+ , the BiCu-ANPs@CF modified electrode exhibits low detection limit ( i.e., 0.081 ppb for Pb 2+ , 0.95 ppb for Cd 2+ , 35 ppb for Zn 2+ ), wide detection range ( i.e., 0.5–700 ppb for Pb 2+ , 5–900 ppb for Cd 2+ , 150–600 ppb for Zn 2+ ) and good anti-interference. Finally, the system has been used for on-site detection of multiplexed HM ions in human biological liquids and environmental water with a good spiked recovery rate, which demanstrates its promise application in the future for on-site monitoring of human health and pollutants in water quality.