Electrochemical behavior and voltammetric determination of acetaminophen based on glassy carbon electrodes modified with poly(4-aminobenzoic acid)/electrochemically reduced graphene oxide composite films

•The 4-ABA/ERGO/GCE was fabricated by a two-step electrochemical method.•Electrochemical behavior of acetaminophen at the 4-ABA/ERGO/GCE was investigated.•The electrochemical sensor exhibited a low detection limit and good selectivity.•This sensor was applied to the detection of acetaminophen in commercial tablets.

Poly(4-aminobenzoic acid)/electrochemically reduced graphene oxide composite film modified glassy carbon electrodes (4-ABA/ERGO/GCEs) were fabricated by a two-step electrochemical method. The electrochemical behavior of acetaminophen at the modified electrode was investigated by means of cyclic voltammetry. The results indicated that 4-ABA/ERGO composite films possessed excellent electrocatalytic activity towards the oxidation of acetaminophen. The electrochemical reaction of acetaminophen at 4-ABA/ERGO/GCE is proved to be a surface-controlled process involving the same number of protons and electrons. The voltammetric determination of acetaminophen performed with the 4-ABA/ERGO modified electrode presents a good linearity in the range of 0.1–65 μM with a low detection limit of 0.01 μM (S/N = 3). In the case of using the 4-ABA/ERGO/GCE, acetaminophen and dopamine can be simultaneously determined without mutual interference. Furthermore, the 4-ABA/ERGO/GCE has good reproducibility and stability, and can be used to determine acetaminophen in tablets.

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