An ultrasensitive electrochemical sensor based on antimonene simultaneously detect multiple heavy metal ions in food samples

Here, we constructed a novel ultra-sensitive electrochemical sensor based on ZIF-67@antimonene (AMNFs) nanocomposites which are based on the first-principles density functional theory the adsorption properties of antimonene on heavy metal ions were studied for simultaneous determination of Cu2+, Pb2+ and Hg2+. The ZIF-67@AMNFs was prepared by using ZIF-67 MOF surface loaded with a large amount of antimonene sheet. Its morphology and crystal structure were characterized by Transmission electron microscope (TEM), Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray diffractometry (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Functional ZIF-67@AMNFs due to its unique layered structure, large active surface area, strong adsorption capacity and good electrical conductivity. In addition, the adsorption capacity of the sensor electrode for Cu2+, Pb2+ and Hg2+ was effectively enhanced. The detection limits of Cu2+, Pb2+ and Hg2+ were 0.01 pM, 0.042 pM and 0.031 pM, respectively. The determination mechanism of Cu2+, Pb2+ and Hg2+ was further clarified based on the adsorption properties and electrochemical accumulation of antimonene on metal atoms. It has been successfully applied to the simultaneous determination of Cu2+, Pb2+ and Hg2+ in rice, sorghum, corn, milk, honey and tea samples, and has good practicability.