Metal-Organic Framework MIL-53(Fe): Synthesis, Electrochemical Characterization, and Application in Development of a Novel and Sensitive Electrochemical Sensor for Detection of Cadmium Ions in Aqueous Solutions

Abstract

A metal-organic framework MIL-53(Fe) was successfully synthesized by a simple hydrothermal method. A synthesized MIL-53(Fe) sample was characterized, and results indicated that the formed MIL-53(Fe) was a single phase with small particle size of 0.8 μm and homogeneous particle size distribution was obtained. The synthesized MIL-53(Fe) has been used to modify a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) by a drop-casting technique. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurements of the MIL-53(Fe)-modified GCE showed that the MIL-53(Fe) was successfully immobilized onto the GCE electrode surface and the electrochemical behavior of the GCE/MIL-53(Fe) electrode was stable. In addition, several electrochemical parameters of MIL-53(Fe)-modified GCE (GCE/MIL-53(Fe)) including the heterogeneous standard rate constant (k0) and the electrochemically effective surface area (A) were calculated. Obtained results demonstrated that the synthesized MIL-53(Fe) with the small particle size, highly homogeneous particle size, and high electrochemically effective surface area was able to significantly enhance the electrochemical response signal of the working electrode. Therefore, the GCE/MIL-53(Fe) electrode has been used as a highly sensitive electrochemical sensor for cadmium ion (Cd(II)) monitoring in aqueous solution using differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) technique. The response signal of the electrochemical sensor increased linearly in the Cd(II) ion concentration range from 150 nM to 450 nM with the limit of detection (LOD) of 16 nM.