A carbon-supported BiSn nanoparticles based novel sensor for sensitive electrochemical determination of Cd (II) ions

A novel sensor based on carbon supported BiSn alloy nanoparticles (BiSn@C) was prepared for the sensitive detection of Cd2+. The BiSn@C and Nafion modified glassy carbon electrode (GCE) exhibited improved electrochemical performance in Cd2+ detection, because of its large specific surface area, abundance of active sites, good electrical conductivity, and strong cation exchange ability. Under the optimum conditions, the fabricated sensor showed good linearity of its response from 0.01 μmol/L to 30 μmol/L for the detection of Cd2+ and a limit of detection (LOD) of 3 nmol/L, which is considerably lower than the limit specified for safe drinking water as guided by the World Health Organization. The Nafion/BiSn@C/GCE was successfully applied for determination for trace Cd2+ in river samples with satisfying recoveries using the standard addition method.