Determination of mercury using a glassy carbon electrode modified with nano TiO2 and multi-walled carbon nanotubes composites dispersed in a novel cationic surfactant

•A novel surfactant was used to construct a modified electrode for Hg detection.•The modified electrode was based on TiO2/MWCNTs composites dispersed in DHAHPTMA.•The constructed modified electrode shows remarkable performances.•The proposed electrode is successfully applied to detect Hg in real samples.

A glassy carbon electrode modified with nano TiO2 and multi-walled carbon nanotubes composites dispersed in a novel cationic surfactant was described for the determination of trace mercury(II) by linear anodic stripping voltammetry. Under optimal experimental conditions, the linear sweep anodic stripping peak current was linear with the concentration of Hg(II) in the range of 0.1–100 μmol L−1 with a detection limit of 0.025 μmol L−1. The sensitivity was found to be 3.7014 A/mol L−1. The proposed electrode also showed a high selectivity for mercury in the presence of common potential interfering metal ions. Moreover, the proposed electrode revealed good reproducibility and stability. The proposed method was successfully applied for the determination of Hg(II) in river water and industrial wastewater samples.

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