Electrochemical characterization of pyrocatechol sulfonephthalein-modified glassy carbon electrode and separation of electrocatalytic responses for ascorbic acid and dopamine oxidation

A pyrocatechol sulfonephthalein- (PS-) modified glassy carbon (PS/GC) electrode has been prepared by adsorption of PS on a glassy carbon electrode surface. Cyclic voltammograms of the PS/GC electrode indicate the presence of a couple of well-defined redox peaks, and the formal potential shifts in the negative direction with increasing solution pH. The relation between formal potential, E-0', and solution pH can be fit to the equation E-0' (mV) = -51.4 pH + 538.7. The PS/GC electrode shows high electrocatalytic activity toward ascorbic acid oxidation, with an overpotential ca. 380 mV less than that of the bare electrode and a drastic enhancement of the anodic currents. The electrocatalytic reaction rate constant (k), which was decreased with increasing concentration of H(2)A, was determined using rotating disk electrode measurements. The values of k was also affected by the solution pH. The electrode can also separate the electrochemical responses of ascorbic acid and dopamine. The separation between the anodic peak potentials of ascorbic acid and dopamine is more than 50 mV by the differential pulse voltammetry. (C) 1999 Academic Press.