A High Efficient Electrocatalytic Activity of Metal-organic Frameworks ZnO/Ag/ZIF-8 Nanocomposite for Electrochemical Detection of Toxic Heavy Metal Ions

A novel electrochemical sensor on ZIF-8 nanocomposites (Ag/ZnO/ZIF-8) was developed to analyze the mercury ions (Hg2+). The ZIF-8 materials are one of the 3-dimensional porous metal-organic frameworks with highly accessible pores and great surface area. The ZIF-8 nanocomposites were prepared through simple sol-gel methods and their physio-chemical properties were characterized via different analytical analyses. As a result of cyclic voltammetry, Ag/ZnO/ZIF-8 exhibited a better electrocatalytic behavior towards the detection of mercury ions (Hg2+). Furthermore, the composite modified electrode was then inspected as a sensor for DPV detection of mercury ions. The nanocomposite sensor performed a wide linear range from 0.5 μM to 140 μM with a low detection limit of 40 nM, and high sensitivity of 56.06 μA μM−1 cm−2. Moreover, the ZIF-8 composite sensor showed a higher selectivity toward the detection of mercury ions (Hg2+). The real-time applications of the ZIF-8 composites sensor were inspected in various samples with good sensitivity.