Construction and application of a novel electrochemical sensor for trace determination of uranium based on ion-imprinted polymers modified glassy carbon electrode

In the present work, a novel electrochemical sensor modified glassy carbon electrode with ion-imprinted polymers (IIP-GCE) was applied for uranyl ions (UO22+) determination. Surface modifier was synthesized through precipitation polymerization method, using acrylic acid as a monomer, benzoyl peroxide (BPO) as initiator, and trimethylolpropane triacrylate (TMPTA) as cross-linker. A new uranyl-trans-3-(3-pyridyl) acrylic acid complex was employed, serving as an active and specific site on the synthesized modifier. Next, the synthesized modifier was characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron microscopy (SEM), and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) techniques. UO22+ ions were detected using a differential pulse adsorptive anodic stripping voltammetry method. Under the optimized conditions (pH = 8.0, pre-concentration time = 10 min and pre-concentration potential = -0.30 V), the modified electrode exhibited linear behavior in the interval of 1.27-95.49 mu g.L-1 with a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.43 mu g.L-1. Also, the constructed ion-imprinted sensor showed a successful application for determining UO22+ ions with recovery range of 97.6-101% in real samples.

Automated summary

In this study, a novel electrochemical sensor modified with ion-imprinted polymers was developed for the determination of uranyl ions. The modified electrode exhibited excellent selectivity and sensitivity, as demonstrated by experimental and characterization analyses. The sensor showed promising potential for practical applications in real samples.