Voltammetric behavior and determination of phenylephrine at a glassy carbon electrode modified with multi-wall carbon nanotubes

A glassy carbon electrode (GCE) modified with multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MCNTs) was achieved by electrodeposition process directly from the MCNT suspension, and the modified electrode was used to examine the phenylephrine (PHE) oxidation in phosphate solutions. Experimental results showed that the oxidation of PHE at the modified electrode was a one-electron/one-proton process controlled by diffusion and the modified electrode exhibited excellent behavior for PHE determination, clearly outperforming GCE. In a range 1 × 10−7–7 × 10−6 mol L−1 the peak current varied linearly with the concentration of PHE, and the detection limit reached 3 × 10−8 mol L−1, which could be used as a basis for determining PHE.