Facile synthesis of functionalizated carbon nanospheres for determination of Cu2+

Abstract

In this research, quantities of carbon nanospheres (CNSs) were prepared with a convenient and low cost method at atmospheric pressure and functionalized with the xanthate group in a simple way. The materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectra (FT-IR), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). In addition, the carbon nanospheres (CNSs) xanthate was applied to fabricate a modified carbon paste electrode (CPE) for the selective and sensitive determination of Cu²⁺. Also, the xanthate with a –CS₂ group was applied as a chelating agent to enrich Cu²⁺ in the determination of Cu²⁺ ions. In square wave stripping voltammetry (SWSV), the carbon nanospheres xanthate-modified CPE displayed linear response to Cu²⁺ in the concentration range of 8.0 × 10⁻⁸ M to 2.2 × 10⁻⁶ M with a detection limit (S/N = 3) of 3.55 × 10⁻⁸ M. The modified electrode exhibited excellent analytical performance in terms of high repeatability. Finally, it was applied to detect Cu²⁺ in the wastewater samples with high accuracy and good recovery, indicating its promising application in the routine analysis of metal ions.