Cadmium-Sensitive Measurement Using a Nano-Copper-Enhanced Carbon Fiber Electrode

Enrichment of cadmium ion (Cd(2+)) from the environment may lead to kidney disease and weakened immunity in the body. Current techniques are not convenient enough to measure Cd(2+) concentration in the environment due to low sensitivity and poor linear range. In this paper, a new measurement technique is proposed using a new sensing electrode made of nano-copper-enhanced carbon fiber. Nano-copper was deposited onto the surface of carbon fiber to enhance the current concentration and mass transfer rate of Cd(2+) during measurement, which improved the electrochemical detection sensitivity significantly (by up to 3.7 × 10(8) nA/nM) and broadened the linear range to 10~10(5) nM. This device provides a low-cost solution for measuring Cd(2+) concentration in the environment.