Electrochemical detection of selenium using glassy carbon electrode modified with reduced graphene oxide

In this work, a simple experimental procedure was reported for the electroanalytical determination of selenium (IV) using reduced graphene oxide (rGO) to modify glassy carbon electrode (GCE). The rGO was obtained by reduction of graphene oxide obtained via Hummer’s method. The synthesised rGO was characterised using X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy-dispersive spectroscopy and transmission Electron microscopy (TEM). GCE was modified with rGO and the electrochemical properties of the bare and modified electrode were investigated using cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The results obtained showed that the modified electrode exhibited more excellent electrochemical properties than the bare GCE. The optimum conditions for detection of selenium in water using square wave anodic stripping voltammetry were as follows: deposition potential −500 mV, pH 1, pre-concentration time of 240 s and 0.1 M nitric acid was used as supporting electrolyte. The linear regression equation obtained was I (µA) = 0.8432C + 9.2359 and the detection limit was calculated to be 0.85 μg L⁻¹. However, Cu(II) and Cd(II) are the two cations that interfered in the analysis of selenium in water. The sensor was also applied for real sample water analysis and the result obtained was affirmed with inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopic method. It is believed that our proposed sensor hold promise for practical application.