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.