Electrochemical sensing of hydrogen peroxide on a carbon paste electrode modified by a silver complex based on the 1,3-bis(1H-benzimidazole-2-yl)propane ligand

Abstract

Abstract A new carbon paste electrode (Ag-CPE) modified with a nitrogen heterocyclic silver(I) complex, [Ag2(BBP)2](pic)2·CH3OH (BBP = 1,3-bis(1H-benzimidazol-2-yl)propane, pic = picrate), was developed as a highly sensitive and simple electrochemical sensor for the determination of hydrogen peroxide. The Ag(I) complex was prepared by an interface reaction and characterized by elemental analysis, IR and UV/Vis spectra and single crystal X-ray diffraction. The Ag(I) complex shows a dinuclear cluster structure, which is formed by two BBP ligands bridging two Ag (I) centers and an Ag–Ag interaction (d Ag–Ag = 3.0875 Å). Cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry studies showed that the electrochemical sensing performance of Ag-CPE for H2O2 was improved in 0.2 m phosphate buffer solution (PBS, pH = 6). The electrochemical H2O2 sensor Ag-CPE exhibits a wide linear detection range from 0.5 to 4.0 mm and a lower detection limit of 0.39 μm with a relatively high sensitivity of 6.77 μA mm −1. Moreover, the sensor also shows good anti-interference properties and stability. The results prove that the Ag(I) complex based on the bis(benzimidazole) ligand may be an efficient component of electrode materials.