Indirect voltammetric determination of caffeine content in coffee using 1,4-benzoquinone modified carbon paste electrode

In this paper a simple and highly sensitive electroanalytical method for the determination of caffeine content using 1,4-benzoquinone modified carbon paste electrode is presented. The method is based on suppression of 1,4-benzoquinone peak current on addition of caffeine. Square-wave and cyclic voltammetric techniques were utilised for the investigation. The 1,4-benzoquinone modified electrode exhibited a well-defined peak with reproducible peak current values for repetitive measurements; and showed a decrease in peak current value with an increase in caffeine content. The result revealed two linear range regions between 0 mmol L−1 and 0.5 mmol L−1 and 0.5 mmol L−1 and 8.0 mmol L−1, with detection limits of 0.3 μmol L−1 and 5.1 μmol L−1, respectively. The method was then successfully applied to the determination of caffeine content in coffee samples. The effects of pH, electrode composition, step potential, pulse amplitude and square-wave frequency on the voltammetric responses were also investigated.