Determination of Cr(VI) in leather residues using graphite/paraffin composite electrodes modified with reduced graphene oxide nanosheets

Abstract

In this study, we determined the Cr(VI) in samples of tanned leather residues by differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) using graphite/paraffin composite electrodes modified with reduced graphene oxide nanosheets (referred to as GPEs/nsRGO). After the modification, the composite electrodes were characterized by two electrochemical techniques (i.e., cyclic voltammetry, CV, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, EIS), scanning electron microscopy, and Raman spectroscopy. The electroanalytical method was applied using the GPEs/nsRGO. An analytical curve was obtained in a Clark-Lubs buffer solution (pH = 1), with a linear concentration range from 25.0 to 392.0 μmol L^-1 and a limit of detection (LOD) of 1.01 μmol L^-1. The GPEs/nsRGO showed good reproducibility in their manufacturing process and good response repeatability with an RSD of 4.59% over twelve measurements. These composite electrodes showed excellent selectivity, which was demonstrated by analyses in the presence of metal ions (Ca²⁺, Zn²⁺, Mg²⁺, Fe³⁺, Co²⁺, Na⁺, and Cu²⁺) that did not interfere in the analysis of Cr(VI). The GPEs/nsRGO were applied to the determination of Cr(VI) in real samples of wet-blue leather and leather ash using DPV. This approach was validated using the sample recovery method, where it presented values from 95.6 to 108.2%. The proposed method showed satisfactory results compared to the literature and can be considered a good alternative for the determination of Cr(VI) in aqueous samples.

Keywords: Chromium(VI); Composite electrodes; Differential pulse voltammetry; Reduced graphene oxide.