An electrochemical sensor based on reduced graphene oxide/gold nanoparticles modified electrode for determination of iron in coastal waters

An electrochemical sensor based on reduced graphene oxide (rGO) and gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) modified electrode was utilized for determination of trace iron in coastal waters with the aid of the iron complexing ligand 2-(5-bromo-2-pyridylazo)-5-diethylaminophenol (5-Br-PADAP). 5-Br-PADAP reacted with iron in short chelating reaction time (<3 min). rGO as a support provided large specific surface area for AuNPs, which would facilitate the electrochemical reduction of Fe(III)-5-Br-PADAP. Under the optimized conditions, the response of Fe(III) at this resulting sensor was linear in the range of 30 nM to 3 μM with a detection limit of 3.5 nM. This sensor also had excellent reproducibility and repeatability. Additionally, the modified electrode had been successfully applied to the determination of Fe(III) in real coastal waters.