Adsorptive anodic stripping voltammetry of zirconium(IV)-alizarin red S complex at a carbon paste electrode

A sensitive adsorptive anodic stripping procedure for the determination of trace zirconium at a carbon paste electrode (CPE) has been developed. The method is based on adsorptive accumulation of the Zr(IV)-alizarin red S(ARS) complex onto the surface of the CPE, followed by oxidation of adsorbed species. The optimal experimental conditions include the use of 0.10 mol · L⁻¹ ammonium acetate buffer (pH 4.3), ARS, an accumulation potential of 0.20 V (versus SCE), an accumulation time of 2 min, a scan rate of 200 mV · s⁻¹ and a second-order derivative linear scan mode. The oxidation peak for the complex appears at 0.69 V. The peak current is proportional to the concentration of Zr(IV) over the range of 1.0 × 10⁻⁹–2.0 × 10⁻⁷ mol · L⁻¹, and the detection limit is 3 × 10⁻¹⁰ mol · L⁻¹ for a 2 min adsorption time. The relative standard deviations (n = 8) for 5.0 × 10⁻⁸ and 5.0 × 10⁻⁹ mol · L⁻¹ Zr(IV) are 3.3 and 4.8%, respectively. The proposed method was applied to the determination of zirconium in ore samples with satisfactory results.     

Improvement of an enzyme electrode by poly(vinyl alcohol) coating for amperometric measurement of phenol

A poly(vinyl alcohol) film cross-linked with glutaraldehyde (PVA-GA) was introduced to the surface of a tyrosinase-based carbon paste electrode. The coated PVA-GA film was beneficial in terms of increasing the stability and reproducibility of the enzyme electrode. The electrode showed a sensitive current response to the reduction of the o-quinone, which was the oxidation product of phenol, by the tyrosinase, in the presence of oxygen. The effects of the PVA and PVA-GA coating, the pH, and the GA:PVA ratio on the current response were investigated. The sensitivity of the PVA-GA-Tyr electrode was 130.56 μA/mM (1.8 μA/μM cm²) and the linear range of phenol was 0.5-100 μM. At a higher concentration of phenol (>100 μM), the current response showed the Michaelis-Menten behavior. Using the PVA-GA-Tyr electrode, a two-electrode system was tested as a prototype sensor for portable applications.     

Application of artificial neural network to simultaneous potentiometric determination of silver(I), mercury(II) and copper(II) ions by an unmodified carbon paste electrode

The response characteristics and selectivity coefficients of an unmodified carbon paste electrode (CPEs) towards Ag⁺, Cu²⁺ and Hg²⁺ were evaluated. The electrode was used as an indicator electrode for the simultaneous determination of the three metal ions in their mixtures via potentiometric titration with a standard thiocyanate solution. A three-layered feed-forward artificial neural network (ANN) trained by back-propagation learning algorithm was used to model the complex non-linear relationship between the concentration of silver, copper and mercury in their different mixtures and the potential of solution at different volumes of the added titrant. The network architecture and parameters were optimized to give low prediction errors. The optimized networks were able to precisely predict the concentrations of the three cations in synthetic mixtures.     

Determination of Nanomolar Concentrations of Pb(II) Using Carbon Paste Electrode Modified with Zirconium Phosphated Amorphous Silica

A sensitive and selective method for the determination of Pb(II) with a zirconium phosphated silica gel (SiZrPH) modified carbon paste electrode has been developed. The measurements were carried out in three steps including an open circuit accumulation following by electrolysis of accumulated Pb(II) at the modified carbon paste electrode and differential pulse voltammetric determination. The analytical performance was evaluated with respect to the carbon paste composition, pH of solution at the accumulation step, pH and concentration of supporting electrolyte, electrolysis potential, accumulation time and electrolysis time. Two linear calibration graphs were obtained in the concentration ranges 2.5×10^?9 mol L^?1–5.0×10^?8 mol L^?1 and 5.0×10^?8 mol L^?1–5.0×10^?6 mol L^?1 with an accumulation time of 120 s. The detection limit was found to be 3.5×10^?10 mol L^?1. The effects of potential interfering ions were studied, and it was found that the proposed procedure is free from interferences of common interfering ions such as tin, thallium and etc. The developed method was applied to Pb(II) determination in a wastewater sample.     

Cyclodextrin Modified Carbon Paste Based Electrodes as Sensors for the Determination of Carcinogenic Polycyclic Aromatic Amines

Voltammetric properties and possibility of the determination of carcinogenic aminoderivatives of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, namely 1‐ and 2‐aminonaphthalene and 2‐aminobiphenyl, have been investigated. Carbon paste electrodes (CPE) modified with monomeric α‐, β‐ or γ‐cyclodextrin and carbon‐based screen‐printed electrodes (SPE) surface‐modified with a thin film of β‐cyclodextrin (β‐CDP) or carboxymethylated β‐cyclodextrin (β‐CDPA) condensation polymer were used for that purpose as simple electrochemical biosensors. Analytical procedure for the DPV determination of tested amines using these biosensors was proposed. Linear calibration plots within the concentration range of 2×10^?8 – 2×10^?7 mol dm^?3 and 2×10^?7–1×10^?6 mol dm^?3 with limits of quantification of the order of 10^?9 mol dm^?3 were obtained for the modified CPE and modified SPE.     

Bioaccumulation and determination of lead using treated-Pennisetum-modified carbon paste electrode

The present work describes the development and application of a carbon paste electrode modified by treated-Pennisetum setosum for the determination of lead(II) by anodic stripping differential pulse voltammetry. Most experiments were performed using the preconcentration/voltammetry/regeneration scheme. The resulting modified electrode offers a preferential uptake of lead(II) from solutions. Operational conditions, such as percentage treated-Pennisetum loading in the carbon paste, pH of electrolyte solution, ionic strength, preconcentration time, voltammetric waveform and interference are characterized and optimized to allow quantitative determination of lead. The electrode surface can be regenerated by immersing the modified electrode in 0.05 mol l⁻¹ hydrochloric acid for 2 min. For the measurement step, the optimum conditions were acetate buffer pH 5.0 and 0.60 ionic strength with the preconcentration time of 5 min. The modified electrode contained 10% (w/w) treated-Pennisetum. The detection limit (3σ) was 0.01 mg l⁻¹ Pb(II). For 16 preconcentration/measurement/renewal cycles, the responses could be reproduced with a 5.39% relative standard deviation. This method has been be successfully applied to the determination of lead(II) in natural water samples using standard addition method.     

Electrocatalysis via Direct Electrochemistry of Myoglobin Immobilized on Colloidal Gold Nanoparticles

The direct electron transfer between immobilized myoglobin (Mb) and colloidal gold modified carbon paste electrode was studied. The Mb immobilized on the colloidal gold nanoparticles displayed a pair of redox peaks in 0.1 M pH 7.0 PBS with a formal potential of –(0.108 ± 0.002) V (vs. NHE). The response showed a surface‐controlled electrode process with an electron transfer rate constant of (26.7 ± 3.7) s ^?1 at scan rates from 10 to 100 mV s^?1 and a diffusion‐controlled process involving the diffusion of proton at scan rates more than 100 mV s^?1. The immobilized Mb maintained its activity and could electrocatalyze the reduction of both hydrogen peroxide and nitrite. Thus, the novel renewable reagentless sensors for hydrogen peroxide and nitrite were developed, respectively. The activity of Mb with respect to the pseudo peroxidase with a K_M^app value of 0.65 mM could respond linearly to hydrogen peroxide concentration from 4.6 to 28 μM. The sensor exhibited a fast amperometric response to NO₂^? reduction and reached 93% of steady‐state current within 5 s. The linear range for NO₂^? determination was from 8.0 to 112 μM with a detection limit of 0.7 μM at 3σ.     

Biomass-modified carbon paste electrodes for monitoring dissolved metal ions

Electrodes were prepared by incorporating dried, nonliving biomass of a common lichen, Ramalina stenospora, and Sphagnum (peat) moss in carbon paste. The electrodes were tested on solutions containing Pb(II) and Cu(II) ions by immersing the electrode in the solution for selected periods of time to accumulate ions. Following this the electrode was connected to a potentiostat and the applied voltage scanned from −1.0 to +0.5 V vs. SCE. Any adsorbed metal ions were stripped back into solution at the appropriate oxidizing voltage. The ratio of biomass to mineral oil to graphite has been found to be crucial to electrode performance. Different ratios of the three components using the lichen Ramalina stenospora were evaluated for maximum electrode performance. Only two electrode compositions gave a good electrode response for lead. Electrodes containing peat moss were superior in performance to lichen-containing electrodes for lead. Electrodes based on the lichens Cladina evansii and Letharia vulpina, the marine algae Ulva lactuca and Sargassum fluitans, the blue-green alga Spirulina platensis, and the aquatic plant Eichhornia crassipes did not respond to lead at all. All functioning electrodes studies showed a poor response toward copper(II) ions.     

Direct Electrochemistry of Hemoglobin and its Electrocatalysis Based on a Carbon Nanotube Paste Electrode

A new hemoglobin (Hb) and carbon nanotube (CNT) modified carbon paste electrode was fabricated by simply mixing the Hb, CNT with carbon powder and liquid paraffin homogeneously. To prevent the leakage of Hb from the electrode surface, a Nafion film was further applied on the surface of the Hb‐CNT composite paste electrode. The modified electrode was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Direct electrochemistry of hemoglobin in this paste electrode was easily achieved and a pair of well‐defined quasi‐reversible redox peaks of a heme Fe(III)/Fe(II) couple appeared with a formal potential (E^0′) of ?0.441 V (vs. SCE) in pH 7.0 phosphate buffer solution (PBS). The electrochemical behaviors of Hb in the composite electrode were carefully studied. The fabricated modified bioelectrode showed good electrocatalytic ability for reduction of H₂O₂ and trichloroacetic acid (TCA), which shows potential applications in third generation biosensors.     

Characterization of a graphite powder – ionic liquid paste coated gold electrode, and a method for voltammetric determination of promethazine

A graphite powder – ionic liquid (1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate, BMIMPF₆) paste coated gold electrode (graphite – BMIMPF₆/Au) is presented. The area and the thickness of the paste film are controlled through a sticking film with a hole. The electrode shows good stability and high electric conductivity, and K₄Fe(CN)₆ exhibits reversible voltammetric peaks at it. A voltammetric study of promethazine revealed that promethazine exhibits a sensitive anodic peak in pH 6.7 buffer solutions. Under the optimized conditions, the peak current is linearly related to the promethazine concentration in the range of 5.0 × 10⁻⁸–5.0 × 10⁻⁵ M. A 5 μM promethazine solution is measured successively for ten times with the same electrode, the relative standard deviation (RSD) of peak current is 1.7%. The promethazine content in a Chinese medicine (i.e. Complex Reserpine) is determined. The result is in accordance with the declared value, and the recoveries are 96.1–104%.