Dopamine sensor in real sample based on thermal plasma silicon carbide nanopowders

Abstract

Silicon carbide nanopowders (SiC_PL) were prepared via thermal plasma synthesis. The electrocatalytic activity of the SiC_PL coated glassy carbon electrode (GCE) towards the electrochemical oxidation of dopamine (DA), ascorbic acid (AA), and uric acid (UA), was characterized by cyclic voltammetry (CV), in 0.1 M phosphate buffer solution (PBS) at pH 7. The peaks of oxidation for DA, AA, and UA result well separated on the modified electrode in contrast with the behavior shown on bare GCE. A low limit of detection (LOD) of 0.043 μM was found at the SiC_PL coated GCE. In a real sample, the recovery rates of the added compound were 98.8%, 106.5% and 100.7%, indicating a potential for the SiC_PL electrode to determine DA in real conditions. The results of the characterization as supercapacitor electrode show that the specific capacitance for SiC_PL is of 151.2 F/g at 0.12 A/g. After 2.5 × 105 cycles SiC electrode still retains about 90% of its initial capacitance showing good stability.