Preparation of dendritic bismuth film electrodes and their application for detection of trace Pb (II) and Cd (II)

In this paper, dendritic Bi film electrodes with porous structure had successfully been prepared on glassy carbon electrode using a constant current electrolysis method based on hydrogen bubble dynamic templates. The electrode prepared using a large applied current density showed an increased internal electroactive area and a significantly improved electrochemical performance. The analytical utility of the prepared dendritic Bi film electrodes for the determination of Pb (II) and Cd (II) in the range of 5–50 μg·L− 1 were presented in combination with square wave stripping voltammetry in model solution. Compared with non-porous Bi film electrode, the dendritic Bi film electrode exhibited higher sensitivity and lower detection limit. The prepared Bi film electrode with dendritic structure was also successfully applied to real water sample analysis.

Graphical abstractThe Bi film electrodes prepared by hydrogen bubble dynamic templates showed porous morphology. The porous Bi film electrodes were applied in the square-wave stripping analysis of Pb(II) and Cd(II). The sensitivities of the porous Bi film electrode were 3.4 and 3.6 times higher than those of non-porous Bi film electrode for Pb(II) and Cd(II). And the detection limits obtained on the porous Bi film electrode were lower that non-porous Bi electrode.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide