Electrochemical detection of triacetone triperoxide employing the electrocatalytic reaction of iron(II/III)-ethylenediaminetetraacetate and hydrogen peroxide

An electrochemical method for the detection of triacetone triperoxide (TATP) is proposed and examined. In this method, TATP solutions were treated with 1.08 M HCl for 10 min releasing H2O2 and/or hydroperoxides. Subsequently, these peroxides undergo an electrocatalytic reduction through the FeII/IIIethylenediaminetetraacetate (EDTA) complex at a glassy carbon electrode. Cyclic voltammetric results indicate that no redox reaction was observed between FeIIEDTA and TATP. Acid treated TATP yielded voltammograms indicative of electrocatalysis of ROOH/HOOH reduction via FeII/IIIEDTA redox cycling. Chronoamperometric results yielded a detection limit of 0.89 μM for TATP and a sensitivity of 0.025 mA mM−1. The influence of pH and O2 interference on the analytical signal is briefly discussed.