ABSTRACT
Isoproturon-imprinted polypyrrole films were electrochemically synthesized onto glassy carbon (GC) electrodes in an ethanol/aqueous solution of pyrrole as a monomer, isoproturon as a template molecule and LiClO4 as supporting electrolyte. Electropolymerization was performed by cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry. The isoproturon template molecules were successfully trapped in the polypyrrole film where they created artificial recognition cavities. After the electrochemical extraction of the template, the polypyrrole film acted as a molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) for the selective recognition of isoproturon whereas the non-imprinted polymer (NIP) film, made in the same conditions except for the presence of isoproturon, did not exhibit any interaction. The MIP and NIP films were characterized by cyclic voltammetry in the presence of redox probes and the thickness of the polymer layers was estimated by EQCM (Electrochemical Quartz Crystal Microbalance) and calculated using Faraday's law. The isoproturon-imprinted polypyrrole films were found to selectively detect isoproturon even in the presence of the interferents carbendazim and carbamazepine. Its limit of detection (LOD) in milli Q water, achieved via square wave voltammetry was as low as 0.5⯵gâ¯L-1, whereas in real water samples it was found to be 2.2⯵gâ¯L-1.
ABSTRACT
The indium tin oxide (ITO) material has been widely used in various scientific fields and has been successfully implemented in several devices. Herein, the electrochemical reduction of ITO electrode in an organic electrolytic solution containing alkali metal, NaI, or redox molecule, N-(ferrocenylmethyl) imidazolium iodide, was investigated. The reduced ITO surfaces were investigated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and grazing incident XRD demonstrating the presence of the electrolyte cation inside the material. Reversibility of this process after re-oxidation was evidenced by XPS. Using a redox molecule based ionic liquid as supporting electrolyte leads to fellow electrochemically the intercalation process. As a result, modified ITO containing ferrocenyl imidazolium was easily generated. This reduction process occurs at mild reducing potential around -1.8 V and causes for higher reducing potential a drastic morphological change accompanied with a decrease of the electrode conductivity at the macroscopic scale. Finally, the self-reducing power of the reduced ITO phase was used to initiate the spontaneous reduction of silver ions leading to the growth of Ag nanoparticles. As a result, transparent and multifunctional active ITO surfaces were generated bearing redox active molecules inside the material and Ag nanoparticles onto the surface.
ABSTRACT
A simple and general route for the immobilization of molecules containing ionic liquids framework was described. The proposed approach is inspired from the classical synthesis of ionic liquid and labeled surface-initiated synthesis of molecules bearing ionic liquid components. In the first step, bromide end layer was electrochemically grafted onto the electrode surface followed by its reaction with imidazole derivatives. The generated modified materials were characterized by electrochemistry and by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). As a result, molecule-based ionic liquids were successfully attached onto electrode material. The possibility to perform an anion-exchange reaction within the layer was demonstrated. Furthermore, the proposed surface functionalization approach was successfully performed without requiring the synthesis of any intermediate. The generated structures provide multifunctional systems containing ions, immobilized cation and mobile anion, and redox species.
ABSTRACT
This paper describes the use of 4-carboxyphenyl-grafted screen-printed carbon electrodes (4-CP-SPEs) for trace lead analysis. These novel and simple use of electrodes were easily prepared by the electrochemical reduction of the corresponding diazonium salt. Pb detection was then performed by a three-steps method in order to avoid oxygen interference: (i) immersion of the grafted screen-printed electrode (SPE) in the sample and adsorption of Pb(II), (ii) reduction of adsorbed Pb(II) by chronoamperometry (CA), and (iii) oxidation of Pb by Anodic Square Wave Voltammetry (SWV). The reoxidation response was exploited for lead detection and quantification. In order to optimize the analytical responses, the influence of the adsorption medium pH and the adsorption time were investigated. Moreover, an interference study was carried out with Cu(II), Hg(II), Al(III), Mn(II), Zn(II), Cd(II) and no major interference can be expected to quantify Pb(II). The described method provided a limit of detection and a limit of quantification of 1.2 × 10(-9)M and 4.1 × 10(-9)M, respectively. These performances indicate that the 4-CP-SPE could be considered as an efficient tool for environmental analysis.
