Voltammetric sensing of trace metals at a poly(pyrrole-malonic acid) film modified carbon electrode

The oxidative electropolymerization of the (3-pyrrol-1-ylpropyl)malonic acid monomer I is a simple and reproducible one-step procedure for the synthesis of complexing polymer film modified electrodes, which have been applied to the electroanalysis of Cu(II), Pb(II), Cd(II) and Hg(II) ions by preconcentration upon complexation, followed by anodic stripping analysis. The detection limits were determined from square-wave voltammetry at 0.5 nM, 5 nM, 50 nM and 0.2 mu M for Pb(II), Cu(II), Hg(II) and Cd(II), respectively, after 10 min preconcentration. The modified electrodes showed a better selectivity toward copper(II) ions. Analysis of copper in a tap water sample agreed well with ICPMS analysis results.