Electrocatalysis of Puerarin on a Nano-CeO2/MWCNTs Composite Modified Electrode and Its Determination in Pharmaceutical Preparations

A good route for the fabrication of CeO₂ nanoparticles (nano‐CeO₂)/multi‐walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) modified glassy carbon electrodes (GCE) was proposed. MWCNTs are used to immobilize nano‐CeO₂. What′s more, with the addition of the MWCNTs, the agglomeration level of CeO₂ nanoparticles can be reduced, the extremely large surface area can be obtained and the electron transfer rate can be increased. The morphological characterization of nano‐CeO₂/MWCNTs was examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The performances of the nano‐CeO₂/MWCNTs/GCE were characterized with cyclic voltammetry (CV), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and typical amperometric response (i‐t). The potential utility of the constructed electrodes was demonstrated by applying them to the analytical determination of puerarin concentration. The catalytic oxidation of puerarin has a better result on nano‐CeO₂/MWCNTs/GCE because of the synergistic effect of nano‐CeO₂ and MWCNTs. An optimized limit of detection of 8.0×10^?9 mol/L was obtained at a signal‐to‐noise ratio of 3 and with a fast response time (within 3 s). Additionally, the nano‐CeO₂/MWCNTs/GCE exhibited a wide linear range from 0.04 to 6.0 μmol/L and high sensitivity.