Silver particle-decorated carbon paste electrode based on ionic liquid for improved determination of nitrite

•Silver sub-micrometre particle-decorated carbon-based ionic liquid paste electrode•Two-step reduction/oxidation electrode conditioning protocol•Wide linear range, favourably low LOD, and excellent repeatability for nitrite determination

A simple silver particle-modified carbon paste electrode is proposed for the determination of low concentration levels of nitrite ions. The electrode consists of a carbon powder decorated with silver sub-micrometre particles (AgPs) and a hydrophobic ionic liquid trihexyltetradecylphosphonium chloride as a binder. It has been shown that AgPs exhibit a strong electrocatalytic effect on the nitrite oxidation. For optimal electroanalytical performance the electrode was conditioned via silver oxidation/reduction cycle. The electrode revealed a linear square-wave voltammetric response in a wide examined concentration range of 0.05 to 1.0 mmol L− 1, limit of detection (LOD) of 3 μmol L− 1 and excellent repeatability with RSD of 0.3%.

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