Analytical applications of glassy carbon electrodes modified with multi-wall carbon nanotubes dispersed in polyethylenimine as detectors in flow systems

This work reports the advantages of using glassy carbon electrodes (GCEs) modified with multi-wall carbon nanotubes (CNT) dispersed in polyethylenimine (PEI) as detectors in flow injection and capillary electrophoresis. The presence of the dispersion of CNT in PEI at the electrode surface allows the highly sensitive and reproducible determination of hydrogen peroxide, different neurotransmitters (dopamine (D) and its metabolite dopac, epinephrine (E), norepinephrine (NE)), phenolic compounds (phenol (P), 3-chlorophenol (3-CP) and 2,3-dichlorophenol (2,3CP)) and herbicides (amitrol). Sensitivities enhancements of 150 and 140 folds compared to GCE were observed for hydrogen peroxide and amitrol, respectively. One of the most remarkable properties of the resulting electrode is the antifouling effect of the CNT/PEI layer. No passivation was observed either for successive additions (30) or continuous flow (for 30 min) of the compounds under investigation, even dopac or phenol. A critical comparison of the amperometric and voltammetric signal of these different analytes at bare- and PEI-modified glassy carbon electrodes and pyrolytic graphite electrodes is also included, demonstrating that the superior performance of CNT is mainly due to their unique electrochemical properties. Glassy carbon electrodes modified with CNT–PEI dispersion also show an excellent performance as amperometric detector in the electrophoretic separation of phenolic compounds and neurotransmitters making possible highly sensitive and reproducible determinations.