Bismuthene, a two-dimensional nanostructured material
derived from
the environmentally friendly and nontoxic element bismuth, holds significant
potential for sustainable electrocatalytic applications. However,
the large-scale application of bismuthene is hindered by the absence
of a high-throughput method for synthesizing solution-processable
bismuthene nanosheets, which are essential for the straightforward
and low-cost fabrication of bismuthene-based nanostructure devices.
This study introduces a simple solvothermal method for synthesizing
bismuthene nanosheets, using hexamethylenetetramine (HMTA) as a structure-directing
agent and in situ-generated hydrogen (H2) from the alkaline
hydrolysis of NaBH4 as the reducing agent. The structural
and electron transfer properties were characterized by using microscopic,
spectroscopic, and electrochemical analyses. To demonstrate the electrocatalytic
application potential, a bismuthene-modified screen-printed carbon
nanotube electrode was fabricated as a nanosensor for the quantitative
detection of heavy metal ions in contaminated water. The nanosensor
exhibited a wide linear concentration range and low detection limits
of 0.1 and 0.16 ppb (μg/L) for Cd and Pb, respectively. Additionally,
the sensor was integrated with a microfluidic flow cell, demonstrating
its applicability for the flow-through analysis of Cd and Pb ions.
The nanosensor showed high selectivity for Cd and Pb ions in the presence
of other metal ions with excellent repeatability and sensor-to-sensor
reproducibility, evidenced by a relative standard deviation of 2%
and 10%, respectively.