Inkjet-printed flexible graphene paper electrode for the electrochemical determination of mercury

Abstract

Here, we report an inkjet-printed graphene paper electrode (IP-GPE) for the electrochemical analysis of mercuric ions (Hg(II)) in industrial wastewater samples. Graphene (Gr) fabricated on a paper substrate was prepared by a facile solution-phase exfoliation method in which ethyl cellulose (EC) behaves as a stabilizing agent. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were utilized to determine the shape and multiple layers of Gr. The crystalline structure and ordered lattice carbon of Gr were confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman spectroscopy. The nano-ink of Gr-EC was fabricated on the paper substance via an inkjet printer (HP-1112) and IP-GPE was exploited as a working electrode in linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) and cyclic voltammetry (CV) for the electrochemical detection of Hg(II). The electrochemical detection is found to be diffusion-controlled illustrated by obtaining a correlation coefficient of 0.95 in CV. The present method exhibits a better linear range of 2–100 μM with a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.862 μM for the determination of Hg(II). The application of IP-GPE in electrochemical analysis shows a user-friendly, facile, and economical method for the quantitative determination of Hg(II) in municipal wastewater samples.