Detection of Cadmium and Copper Cations Using Amorphous Nitrogenated Carbon Thin Film Electrodes

Abstract

Abstract Nitrogenous amorphous carbon (a‐CN x ) thin films were deposited by radio‐frequency cathodic magnetron sputtering (13.56 MHz) on polished and etched titanium disks. While these films are cheaper to prepare than commonly reported carbon‐based electrodes, the usable electrochemical window in aqueous solution is within the same range and spans from −1.5 to +1.8 V vs. SCE. The electrochemical reactivity was tested using the ferri‐ferrocyanide redox couple as a function of the thin films preparation parameters. The obtained electrochemical properties allow the use of these a‐CN x thin films for stripping electroanalysis of cations in water, minimizing potential solvent reactivity. Cadmium and copper were used to test these detection abilities. Better analytical properties (notably sensitivity and linearity) were obtained as compared to a commercial boron doped diamond electrode. Preliminary competition/interaction experiments for these two cations were performed.