Electrochemical detection of nitrate in PM2.5 with a copper-modified carbon fiber micro-disk electrode

•We developed a simple electrochemical method to detect nitrate in PM2.5 firstly.•A new method was developed for the fabrication of carbon fiber micro-disk electrode.•The experimental conditions were optimized for the determination of nitrate.•The proposed means had an excellent specificity against the other water-soluble ions.•We analyzed the daily change of nitrate in PM2.5 of Yangzhou by this new approach.

The accurate measurement of nitrate in PM2.5 is essential for a complete understanding of the effects of aerosols on human health, the impact of aerosols on the radiative balance of the earth and the role of aerosols in visibility problems. In this paper, we present a novel, quick, easy, cheap and eco-friendly electroanalytical procedure for the determination of nitrate in PM2.5 samples using a carbon-fiber micro-disk electrode (CFMDE) coupled with square-wave voltammetry (SWV). Under optimal experimental conditions the nitrate SWV response increases linearly with nitrate concentration over a range of 0.003–2.0 mmol L−1, and the detection limit is 1.10 μmol L−1 (S/N=3). Nitrate contents in daily PM2.5 of Yangzhou in China were detected successfully by employing this novel method, and the results were compared well with those obtained by using ion chromatography. Then, we detected nitrate in two-hour PM2.5 filter samples via the standard addition method, and the concentrations were applied in an analysis of the daily change of nitrate contained in PM2.5 of Yangzhou. The research in this work indicates that the electrochemical method opens a new opportunity for fast, portable, and sensitive analysis of components in PM2.5.

Graphical abstractCFMDE: carbon-fibre micro-disk electrode.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide