Electrodeposition of copper nano-clusters at a platinum microelectrode for trace nitrate determination

Copper nano-clusters were electrodeposited onto a platinum microelectrode by cyclic voltammetry method to fabricate an electrochemical sensor for trace nitrate determination. The freshly deposited copper layer were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM).Then, electrochemical response of the porous copper nano-clusters morphological layer under mildly acidic conditions (pH=3) was characterized by linear sweep voltammetry. The preliminary experimental results reveal that the microelectrode surface modified by cyclic voltammetry electrodeposition was porous and has a larger effective surface area, which shows marked sensitivity for trace nitrate ions within the concentration range from 12.5 to 300 μmol L−1.