In the present work we report the development of a novel electrochemical sensor associated with high sensitivity, selectivity, cost affordability and fast sensing ability. We used 1-phenyl-N-(pyridin-2-ylmethyl) ethanamine (PPE) as a recognition layer over the surface of glassy carbon electrode for the trace level detection of mercuric (Hg2+) and cadmium (Cd2+) ions. The effects of pH, temperature, concentration of the modifier, accumulation time, deposition potential and supporting electrolytes were examined to optimize conditions for achieving the best sensing response of the analytes. The designed sensors demonstrated good percentage recovery, remarkable electrocatalytic activity and excellent discrimination ability for the target analytes in the presence of interfering metal ions. The wide linearity range and quite lower detection limits of 0.1 nM and 0.8 nM for Hg+2 and Cd+2 ions suggested the promising candidature of the designed sensor for monitoring heavy metal ions in aqueous systems. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.