Voltammetric sensor for tartrazine determination in soft drinks using poly (p-aminobenzenesulfonic acid)/zinc oxide nanoparticles in carbon paste electrode

•A novel tartrazine sensor on the base of catalytic properties of ZnO nanoparticles and poly (p-aminobenzensulfonic acid) was developed.•A remarkable improvement in the kinetics of the electron transfer for tartrazine was observed on the surface of the modified electrode, by lowering the anodic overpotential and considerably increasing the anodic peak current.•Surface morphology and electrochemical properties of the prepared nanocomposite modified electrode were investigated by SEM and cyclic voltammetry.

Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) and p-aminobenzenesulfonic acid (p-ABSA) were used to fabricate a modified electrode, as a highly sensitive and selective voltammetric sensor, for the determination of tartrazine. A fast and easy method for the fabrication of poly p-ABSA (Pp-ABSA)/ZnO NPs-carbon paste electrode (Pp-ABSA/ZnO NPs-CPE) by cyclic voltammetry was used. By combining the benefits of Pp-ABSA, ZnO NPs, and CPE, the resulted modified electrode exhibited outstanding electrocatalytic activity in terms of tartrazine oxidation by giving much higher peak currents than those obtained for the unmodified CPE and also other constructed electrodes. The effects of various experimental parameters on the voltammetric response of tartrazine were investigated. At the optimum conditions, the sensor has a linear response in the concentration range of 0349-5.44 μM, a good detection sensitivity (2.2034 μA/μM), and a detection limit of 80 nM of tartrazine. The proposed electrode was used for the determination of tartrazine in soft drinks with satisfactory results.

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