Fabrication of Novel Modified Glassy Carbon Electrode for Determination ofToxic Phenol

Phenol and a considerable number of its derivatives are important toxic compounds and areextensively used in several industrial processes such as plastics, dyes, pesticides, papers, andpetrochemical products. It is also produced in our body during food intake. As a result, phenolsare often detected in water, soil and sediment samples. Phenol is used in the cleaning process ofbacteria and fungi and for the treatment of sour threat as a paste and solution in medicine due toits disinfectant properties. Phenol today is not only threating the human health but also is a majorsource of pollutant, thus, it carries a potential risk for usage. Owing to their poorbiodegradability, high toxicity and ecological aspects, phenol should be determined quantitativelywhen the sample is analyzed by sensitive analytical methods [1]. Phenol can be bind onto anelectrode surface thus a polymerization process takes places on the modified electrode surface.The binding of phenol on the electrode surface enable us to determine phenol at very lowconcentrations. Voltammetric techniques require a small amount of sample volume thus help usto determine phenol and its derivatives [2]. Recently, metal nanoparticles have paid muchattention due to their enhanced catalytic properties in various chemical reactions. Many reportsestablished that the metal nanoparticles had high yields in catalyzing due to their smaller size (1-100 nm), and they possess unique exhibit unique physical, chemical and electronic propertieswhich are different from the bulk materials, and it can be used to construct novel and enhancedsensing devices, particularly, electrochemical and biosensors [3]. In this work, we tried todevelop a specific sensor electrode for the determination of phenol by modifying GCE surfaceusing CoFe2O4 nanoparticles and (14E)-4-((E)-4-(2-hydroxybenzylideneamino)phenoxy)-N-2- hydroxybenzylidenebenzenamine (see fig. 1). After the modification process, the electron transferbecomes easier and faster. For the calibration curve, a series of standard phenol solution between1.0×10-3 M and 1.0×10-8 M was prepared. By using this calibration method, the amount of phenolwas determined as 8.33×10-5 M in natural decayed leaves. Detection limit was obtained as low as1.0×10-8 M. By using this developed sensor electrode one can easily quantitatively determinephenol at very low concentrations. This study was successfully applied to the real samples forphenol determination.

کلیدواژه ها:

Phenol ، Glassy carbon electrode ، Cyclic voltammetry ، Surface modification