Electrochemical real-time sensor for the detection of Pb(II) ions based on Ti3C2Tx MXene
We are proud to present our collaborative paper on an electrochemical real-time sensor for the selective detection of Pb(II) ions, powered by Ti₃C₂Tₓ MXene. Big thank you to our collaborators from Vilnius for extensive experiments and to make it published!
Full article available: Sarunas Zukauskas, Alma Rucinskiene, Simonas Ramanavicius, Anton Popov, Gediminas Niaura, Ivan Baginskiy, Veronika Zahorodna, Serhii Dukhnovskiy, Oleksiy Gogotsi, Arunas Ramanavicius, Electrochemical real-time sensor for the detection of Pb(II) ions based on Ti3C2Tx MXene,Science of The Total Environment, Volume 950, 2024, 175190, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.175190
Why this matters: Lead contamination is a serious public health issue—even trace amounts of Pb²⁺ can cause developmental and neurological disorders. Detecting it selectively in complex samples has remained a challenge—until now.
Highlights:
• Electrochemical Pb2+ ion sensor based on delaminated Ti3C2Tx MXene was developed.
• Sensor was capable to detect selectively low concentrations of Pb2+ in solution containing common metal ions.
• The proposed reaction mechanism is based on reversible transition between Pb2+ ions and PbO at the MXene layer.
• Sensitivity of sensor towards Pb2+ ions and the limit of detection were determined.
• Linear response was in a range of 0,15–1 μM, with a sensitivity of 26.7 μA/μM and LOD of 48.7 nM.
Abstract
Lead ions are especially harmful to human health, causing significant developmental and behavioral abnormalities even at small concentrations. In real-life samples, lead ions are present in mixtures with other metal ions, creating a challenge to detect it selectively at low quantities. To address these challenges, we prepared an electrochemical sensor based on delaminated Ti3C2Tx MXene, which can selectively detect low concentrations of Pb2+ in a solution containing other common metal ions. Cyclic voltammetry was applied as an electrochemical detection method.
The proposed reaction mechanism involves a reversible transition between Pb2+ ions and PbO at the MXene-based layer. The sensitivity of the sensor towards Pb2+ ions and a limit of detection were determined. The sensor, as prepared, had a linear response range within 0.15–1.0 μM, with a sensitivity of 26.7 μA/μM and LOD value of 48.7 nM, which meets the requirements set by the World Health Organization.
The tested system possesses further significant advantages in the low time required for sample preparation, measurement and analysis. This work lays the foundation for further development of in situ electrochemical sensors based on MXenes and their potential integration into lab-on-a-chip systems, enabling fast, portable, and cost-effective measurements for a wide range of applications.
To cite: Sarunas Zukauskas, Alma Rucinskiene, Simonas Ramanavicius, Anton Popov, Gediminas Niaura, Ivan Baginskiy, Veronika Zahorodna, Serhii Dukhnovskiy, Oleksiy Gogotsi, Arunas Ramanavicius, Electrochemical real-time sensor for the detection of Pb(II) ions based on Ti3C2Tx MXene,Science of The Total Environment, Volume 950, 2024, 175190, ISSN 0048-9697, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.175190