Platinum/poly(N-ferrocenylmethyl-N-allylimidazolium bromide) quasi-reference electrode for electrochemistry in non-aqueous and ionic liquid solutions

•Direct electrochemical polymerization of N-ferrocenylmethyl-N-allylimidazolium bromide•Poly(N-ferrocenyl-N-allylimidazolium bromide) coated platinum wire or carbon rod•Redox polymer based ionic liquid as quasi-reference electrode•Poly(ferrocenyl-imidazolium) reference electrode in non-aqueous and ionic liquid solutions

A platinum wire coated with partially oxidized poly(N-ferrocenyl-N-allylimidazolium bromide) is proposed as a quasi-reference electrode (QRE) for use in non-aqueous and ionic liquid solutions. The electrode was fabricated by the electrochemical polymerization of N-ferrocenylmethyl-N-allylimidazolium bromide on a Pt wire. The stability of the QRE was investigated by cyclic voltammetry in acetonitrile and ionic liquid solutions. The QRE exhibits better performance in terms of stability than conventional metal wire based quasi-reference electrodes (Ag, Pt). Furthermore, unlike the classical reference electrodes (SCE or Ag | AgCl), the proposed QRE prevents contamination of the test solution.

Graphical abstractDownload full-size image