Application of polypyrrole multi-walled carbon nanotube composite layer for detection of mercury, lead and iron ions using surface plasmon resonance technique

Amir Reza Sadrolhosseini; A S M Noor; Afarin Bahrami; H N Lim; Zainal Abidin Talib; Mohd Adzir Mahdi

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0093962

Application of polypyrrole multi-walled carbon nanotube composite layer for detection of mercury, lead and iron ions using surface plasmon resonance technique

PLoS One. 2014 Apr 14;9(4):e93962. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0093962. eCollection 2014.

Authors

Amir Reza Sadrolhosseini¹, A S M Noor², Afarin Bahrami³, H N Lim⁴, Zainal Abidin Talib⁵, Mohd Adzir Mahdi²

Affiliations

¹ Wireless and Photonics Networks Research Center of Excellence (WiPNET), Faculty of Engineering Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia.
² Wireless and Photonics Networks Research Center of Excellence (WiPNET), Faculty of Engineering Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia; Department of Computer and Communication Systems Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia.
³ Faculty of Science, Islamic Azad University, Eslamshahr Branch, Tehran, Iran.
⁴ Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia; Functional Device Laboratory, Institute of Advanced Technology, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia.
⁵ Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia.

Abstract

Polypyrrole multi-walled carbon nanotube composite layers were used to modify the gold layer to measure heavy metal ions using the surface plasmon resonance technique. The new sensor was fabricated to detect trace amounts of mercury (Hg), lead (Pb), and iron (Fe) ions. In the present research, the sensitivity of a polypyrrole multi-walled carbon nanotube composite layer and a polypyrrole layer were compared. The application of polypyrrole multi-walled carbon nanotubes enhanced the sensitivity and accuracy of the sensor for detecting ions in an aqueous solution due to the binding of mercury, lead, and iron ions to the sensing layer. The Hg ion bonded to the sensing layer more strongly than did the Pb and Fe ions. The limitation of the sensor was calculated to be about 0.1 ppm, which produced an angle shift in the region of 0.3° to 0.6°.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adsorption
Ions
Iron / analysis
Lead / analysis
Mercury / analysis
Metals, Heavy / analysis*
Microscopy, Atomic Force
Nanotubes, Carbon / chemistry*
Optical Phenomena
Polymers / chemistry*
Pyrroles / chemistry*
Refractometry
Solutions
Spectrophotometry, Atomic
Surface Plasmon Resonance / methods*
Water Pollutants, Chemical / analysis

Substances

Ions
Metals, Heavy
Nanotubes, Carbon
Polymers
Pyrroles
Solutions
Water Pollutants, Chemical
Lead
polypyrrole
Iron
Mercury

Grants and funding

The authors would like to appreciate the Wireless and Photonics Networks Research Center of Excellence (WiPNET), Faculty of Engineering University Putra Malaysia for their continued supported throughout this project. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.