Evaluation of a reduced graphene oxide-Sb nanoparticles electrochemical sensor for the detection of cadmium and lead in chamomile tea

Abstract

The development of electroanalytical sensors for heavy metals detection in complex matrices holds great interest. Herein, a sensor based on a reduced graphene oxide (rGO) modified with antimony nanoparticles (Sb) was developed for the electrochemical detection of divalent cadmium ions (Cd2+) and lead ions (Pb2+). The simultaneous determination of both metals covered a range of 0.1 to 3.0 μmol L-1, with limits of detection (LOD) of 70.03 and 45.50 nmol L-1 for Cd2+ and Pb2+, respectively. For the individual detection, LOD of 20.50 nmol L-1 (Cd2+) and 2.01 nmol L-1 (Pb2+) were found. The analytical performance of this new sensor in detecting both metals in chamomile tea samples was satisfactorily evaluated.