Highly sensitive electrochemical sensor based on bismuth nanopowders for detecting heavy metals and uranium

This work introduced a novel electrochemical sensor based on bismuth (Bi) nanopowders for trace analyses of heavy metals and uranium. High purity Bi nanopowders with an average size of 35 nm were synthesized by gas condensation method. The prepared Bi nanopowders were strongly fixed on the screen-printed carbon electrode using a Nafion. From the quantitative analyses of sensitivity and detection limit for Zn, Cd, Pb ions, the nano-Bi electrode has been proven to be more sensitive and reliable by increasing the electrochemical active surface area and by decreasing the electrical resistivity of the carbon electrode. It is also proposed that the nano-Bi can be applied to the uranium trace analysis.