Polyphenol-modified glassy carbon electrodes for copper detection

The present work reports the preparation of electrochemically polymerized flavone - luteolin and flavonol - kaempferol modified glassy carbon (GC) electrodes (PolyLut/GC and PolyKae/GC, respectively). Electrochemical polymerization was performed by electrochemical oxidation of luteolin and kaempferol by potential cycling in aqueous media. Cyclic voltammograms of luteolin on the GC electrode indicated one clear oxidation peak at +475 mV, which can be assigned to the oxidation of 3′-hydroxyl and 4′-hydroxyl groups in the B-ring of the luteolin molecule. The cyclic voltammograms of kaempferol on the GC electrode contained two oxidation peaks, one at about +390 mV, which is assigned to the oxidation of 4′-hydroxyl and 3-hydroxyl groups of the B-ring and C-ring of the kaempferol molecule, and second oxidation peak at about +710 mV, which is assigned to the 7-hydroxyl group of the A-ring. The interaction of PolyLut/GC and PolyKae/GC electrodes with copper(II) (Cu(II)) ions were investigated by differential pulse voltammetry (DPV). It was determined that PolyLut/GC and PolyKae/GC electrodes showed sensitivity towards Cu(II) with good reproducibility and stability of analytical signal. The effect of the interfering ions on the voltammetric measurements of Cu(II) was examined. © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.