Well-arranged porous Co3O4 microsheets for electrochemistry of Pb(II) revealed by stripping voltammetry

A case study with porous Co3O4 microsheets was established to demonstrate how the adsorption of heavy metal ions from aqueous solution and release onto the surfaces of glassy carbon electrodes improved the electrochemical performance of metal ions. With different adsorption capacities of the porous Co3O4 (26.69 mg g− 1) and layered Co3O4 microsheets (6.56 mg g− 1) toward Pb(II), porous Co3O4/nafion electrode has shown better sensitivity, 71.57 μA μM− 1, and lower detection limit, 0.018 μM, than that of layered Co3O4/nafion electrode (28.26 μA μM− 1, 0.052 μM).

► Well-arranged porous Co3O4 microsheets have been synthesized.
► Porous Co3O4 microsheets have adsorption ability toward Pb(II).
► Adsorption ability is useful for the detection of Pb(II).
► A sensitivity of 71.57 μA μM− 1 and detection limit of 0.018 μM are obtained.
► Mechanism of “adsorbing and releasing” is demonstrated.