Electrochemical sensors and devices for heavy metals assay in water: the French groups' contribution

A great challenge in the area of heavy metal trace detection is the development of electrochemical techniques and devices which are user-friendly, robust, selective, with low detection limits and allowing fast analyses. This review presents the major contribution of the French scientific academic community in the field of electrochemical sensors and electroanalytical methods within the last 20 years. From the well-known polarography to the up-to-date generation of functionalized interfaces, the different strategies dedicated to analytical performances improvement are exposed: stripping voltammetry, solid mercury-free electrode, ion selective sensor, carbon based materials, chemically modified electrodes, nano-structured surfaces. The paper particularly emphasizes their advantages and limits face to the last Water Frame Directive devoted to the Environmental Quality Standards for heavy metals. Recent trends on trace metal speciation as well as on automatic “on line” monitoring devices are also evoked.