Nanoscale Ag2O decorated UiO-66 metal organic framework for simultaneous electrochemical sensing of heavy metals, Cd2+ and Hg2

•Ag2O nanoparticle anchored UiO-66 metal organic framework (MOF) based electrodes have been fabricated.•The electrodes were employed for individual and simultaneous detection of Cd2+ and Hg2+.•Differential pulse stripping voltammetry (DPSV) data offered excellent selectivity and sensitivity.•The limit of detection (LOD) for the respective ions was estimated to be 0.008 μM and 0.003 μM. Herein, we come up with a new electrochemical sensing strategy for detecting heavy metal ions present in aqueous media using metal organic framework (MOF) electrode decorated with Ag2O nanoparticles (NPs). Post-synthesis modification route was followed to load the Ag2O NPs into zirconium-based MOF UiO-66 host. In the composite, the NPs were believed to act as the electric current enhancer while UiO-66 provided adsorption sites for heavy metal ions. The ITO electrodes were modified with as prepared composite for the electrochemical detection of Hg2+ and Cd2+ independently as well as simultaneously. The detection of heavy metals was performed by the modified electrodes through differential pulse stripping voltammetry (DPSV) which offered excellent selectivity and with sensitivity values up to 551 μA·μM−1·cm−2 for Cd2+ and 341.2 μA·μM−1·cm−2 for Hg2+. The limit of detection (LOD) for the respective cases, were estimated to be 0.008 μM and 0.003 μM. Technical viability of this approach can be further extended to real sample analysis in soil, river basin, waste land and even ground water for simultaneous detection of heavy metal ions as and when desired. [Display omitted]