Developing effective electrocatalysts to achieve highly sensitive and selective detection of heavy metal ions is one of the challenges in the field of environmental monitoring. Herein, bismuth (Bi) metallene (Bi-ene) in atomic thickness is successfully synthesized and applied as a conceptual application in electrochemical sensors for the detection of lead ion (Pb2+) and cadmium ion (Cd2+) both individually and simultaneously, exhibiting superior sensitivity and anti-interference performance. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal that the Bi-ene has a stronger adsorption capability for Pb and Cd than that of Bi nanosheets (Bi-NSs). This work not only achieves Bi-ene-based catalytic signal amplification for sensitive detection of heavy metal ions but also holds promising application of atomic scale materials in environmental monitoring.
Keywords: Atomic scale materials; Electrocatalysis; Electrochemical sensors; Heavy metal ions; Metallene.
Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.