Platinum decorated multi-walled carbon nanotubes/Triton X-100 modified carbon paste electrode for the sensitive amperometric determination of Paracetamol

Abstract

Enhanced sensitivity and electro-catalytic activity for the sensor was achieved by incorporating platinum decorated multi-walled carbon nanotubes (PtMWCNTs) into the carbon paste matrix and TritonX-100 (TX100) layered onto its surface. The modification of carbon paste electrode (CPE) using PtMWCNTs and TX100 was accomplished by employing bulk modification and drop cast methods, respectively. The electrochemical behaviour of Paracetamol (PA) at PtMWCNTs and TX100 modified CPE was investigated by cyclic voltammetry and amperometry. The electrode sensitivity for PA has shown significant variation on varying the amount of Pt nanoparticles on MWCNTs and the PtMWCNTs content in carbon paste matrix. The influence of variation of concentration, volume and time of adsorption of TX100 on the response of PA was investigated. The developed sensor was employed for the selective detection of PA using hydrodynamic amperometry at physiological pH in the presence of ascorbic acid (AA), dopamine (DA) and tryptophan (Trp). The surface morphology of the electrode was studied using FE-SEM images and the interface properties of bare and modified electrodes were investigated by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. PtMWCNTs in combination with TX100 resulted in an impressive enhancement in the redox current with an analytical advantage of complete elimination of the interference of AA in the simultaneous determination of PA in a mixture. A lower detection limit of (17.71±2.03) nM (S/N=3) was achieved for PA. The modified electrode showed excellent reproducibility, long-term stability and antifouling effects. The practical analytical application was demonstrated by carrying out determination of PA in real samples.