Electrocatalytic properties of [Ru(bpy)(tpy)Cl]PF6 at carbon ceramic electrode modified with nafion sol-gel composite: application to amperometric detection of l-cysteine

A two-step sol-gel technique was used here to prepare a carbon ceramic electrode modified with nafion and [Ru(bpy)(tpy)Cl]PF6. This involves two steps: first, forming a bulk-modified carbon ceramic electrode with nafion, and then immersing the electrode into a Ru-complex solution (electroless deposition) for a short period of time (5-25 s). Cyclic voltammograms of the resulting surface-modified carbon ceramic electrode show stable and a well-defined redox couple due to Ru(II)/Ru(III) system with surface-confined characteristic. l-Cysteine (CySH) has been chosen as a model to elucidate the electrocatalytic ability of Ru-complex nafion sol-gel composite electrode. Not only the modified electrode shows excellent catalytic activity toward l-cysteine electrooxidation in pH range 3-9, but the antifouling effect of nafion film also increases the reproducibility of results in comparison with CCE modified with homogeneous mixing of graphite powder and Ru-complex (one step sol-gel method). Under the optimized conditions in amperometry method, the concentration calibration range, detection limit and sensitivity were 0.1-100 μM, 20 nM and 50 nA/μM, respectively. The advantages of this modified electrode are good reproducibility, excellent catalytic activity, simplicity of preparation and especially its antifouling properties towards l-cysteine and its oxidation products. Additionally, it is promising as a detector in flow system or chromatography systems.