An all-solid-state polymeric membrane Pb2+-selective electrode with bimodal pore C60 as solid contact

•An all-solid-state Pb2+-ISE with bimodal pore C60 as solid contact is developed.•The bimodal pore C60-based solid contact is prepared by electrochemical deposition.•The electrode shows an excellent potential stability with a LOD of 5.0 × 10−10 M.

An all-solid-state polymeric membrane Pb2+ ion-selective electrode (Pb2+-ISE) based on bimodal pore C60 (BP-C60) as solid contact has been developed. A BP-C60 film can be readily formed on the surface of a glassy carbon electrode by electrochemical deposition. Cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy have been employed to characterize the BP-C60 film. The large double layer capacitance and fast charge-transfer capability make BP-C60 favorable to be used as solid contact for developing all-solid-state ISEs. The all-solid-state BP-C60-based Pb2+-ISE shows a Nernstian response in the range from 1.0 × 10−9 to 1.0 × 10−3 M with a detection limit of 5.0 × 10−10 M. The membrane electrode not only displays an excellent potential stability with the absence of a water layer between the ion-selective membrane and the underlying BP-C60 solid contact, but also is insensitive to interferences from O2, CO2 and light. The proposed solid-contact Pb2+-ISE has been applied to determine Pb2+ in real water samples and the results agree well with those obtained by anodic stripping voltammetry.

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