A portable magnetic electrochemical sensor for highly efficient Pb(II) detection based on bimetal composites from Fe-on-Co-MOF

The practical, sensitive, and real-time detection of heavy metal ions is an essential and difficult problem. This study presents the design of a unique magnetic electrochemical detection system that can achieve real-time field detection. To enhance the electrochemical performance of the sensor, Fe2O3@C-800, Co/CoO@/C-600, and CoFe2O4@C-600 magnetic composites were synthesized using three MOFs precursors by the solvothermal method. And the morphology structure and electrochemical properties of as-prepared magnetic composites were researched by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM), specific surface area and porosity analyzer (BET) and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV). The results shown that these composites improve conductivity and stability while preserving the MOFs basic frame structure. Compared with the monometallic MOFs-derived composites, the synergistic effect of the bimetallic composite CoFe2O4@C-600 can significantly enhance the electrochemical performance of the sensor. The linear range for the detection of lead ions was 0.001–60 μM, and the detection limit was 0.0043 μM with a sensitivity of 22.22 μA μM·cm−2 by differential pulse voltammetry. The sensor has good selectivity, stability, reproducibility and can be used for actual sample testing.