Voltammetric Determination of Copper(II) at Chemically Modified Carbon Paste Electrodes Containing Alga

The design of appropriate chemically modified electrodes should allow development of new voltammetric measurement schemes with enhanced selectivity and sensitivity. Microorganism like algae has high ability to trap toxic and heavy metal ions and different affinities for metal ions. A copper(II) ion-selective carbon paste electrode was constructed by incorporating alga Anabaena into a conventional carbon paste mixture, and then the film of 10% Nafion was coated to avoid the swelling of the electrode surface. Copper ion could be deposited at the 25% algamodified electrode for 15 min without the applied potential while stirring the solution by only immersing the electrode in a buffer (pH 4.0) cot1taining copper(II). Temperature was controlled at $35^{\circ}C$. After preconcentration was carried out the electrode was transferred to a 0.1 M potassium chloride solution and was reduced at -0.6 volt at $25^{\circ}C$. The differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry was employed. A well-defined oxidation peak could be obtained at -0.1 volt (vs SCE). In five deposition / measurement / regeneration cycles, the responses were reproducible and relative standard deviations were 3.3% for $8.0{\times}10^{-4}M$ copper(II). Calibration curve for copper was linear over the range from $2.0{\times}10^{-4}M$ to $1.0{\times}10^{-3}M$. The detection limit was $7.5{\times}10^{-5}M$. Studies of the effect of diverse ions showed that the coexisting metal ions had little or no effect for the determination of copper. But anions such as cyanide. oxalate and EDTA seriously interfered.