Simultaneous determination of heavy metals by an electrochemical method based on a nanocomposite consisting of fluorinated graphene and gold nanocage

Fluorinated graphene/gold nanocage (FGP/AuNC) nanocomposite was developed for simultaneous determination of heavy metals using square wave anodic stripping voltammetry. Under optimized conditions, with a buffer pH of 5.0, a deposition potential of − 1.25 V, and a deposition time of 140 s, the method can obtain the best results. The FGP/AuNC electrode exhibits low limits of detection (0.08, 0.09, 0.05, 0.19, 0.01 μg L−1), wide linear ranges (6–7000, 4–6000, 6–5000, 4–4000, 6–5000 μg L−1), and well-separated stripping peaks (at − 1.10, − 0.77, − 0.50, − 0.01, 0.31 V vs Ag/AgCl) towards Zn2+, Cd2+, Pb2+, Cu2+, and Hg2+, respectively. Furthermore, the FGP/AuNC electrode is also used for simultaneous determination of Zn2+, Cd2+, Pb2+, Cu2+, and Hg2+ in real samples (peanut, rape bolt, and tea). Highly consistent results are found between the electrochemical method and atomic fluorescence spectrometry/inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. The method has been successfully applied to the determination of heavy metal ions in agricultural food.