Study of the responses of a sonogel-carbon electrode towards phenolic compounds

The electrochemical behavior of a sonogel-carbon electrode towards nine phenolic compounds (chloro-, nitro- and alkyl-phenols) was studied; one of them (4-chloro-3-methylphenol) was used to evaluate characteristics of the electrode, such as accumulation and cleaning procedure of the electrode surface, reproducibility of the measurements, and influence of time from fabrication on electrochemical response. A polyethyleneglycol-modified sonogel-carbon electrode was found to improve the electrochemical response towards the analyte. A linear relationship between peak height and concentration in the range 0.005 -0.5 mg L-1 was obtained, with a detection limit of 2.8 mu g L-1. The studies of electrochemical parameters, as well as interferences, are also included.