State-transition-algorithm-based resolution for overlapping linear sweep voltammetric peaks with high signal ratio

• STA can be employed to resolve simulated and real high signal ratio overlapping peaks.
• STA shows better performance compared with some global optimization methods.
• The reagents can be used for simultaneous determination of Cd2 +, Co2 + and Zn2 + with a high concentration ratio.

To resolve the overlapping linear sweep voltammetric peaks (LSVPs) in the case of small signals overlapping to a very big one, a parameter optimization method based on state-transition-algorithm (STA) is investigated. First, four special state transformation operators of STA are introduced and a parameter optimization method is proposed. Then, the overlapping LSVPs are obtained by simultaneously determining trace amounts of Cd2 + and Co2 + in the presence of a high concentration of Zn2 + based on optimized reagents. Finally, overlapping LSVPs are resolved into independent sub-peaks using the proposed method. The resolution results show that the goodness-of-fit of fitting curve in describing the overlapping LSVPs is more than 97%. It indicates that the proposed method is reasonable and effective for the resolution of overlapping LSVPs in the case of high signal ratio which is more than 50.