Electrochemical Determination of Acetaminophen Using a Hydrophilic Single-Walled Carbon Nanohorn Modified Glassy Carbon Electrode

Abstract

A simple and novel electrochemical sensor based on a hydrophilic single-walled carbon nanohorn (SWCNH) modified glassy carbon electrode (GCE) was designed for the determination of acetaminophen (APAP). The hydrophilic SWCNH/GCE was characterized using Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffractometer (XRD), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). This proposed sensor exhibits remarkable performance for the electrocatalytic detection of APAP. The hydrophilic SWCNH/GCE shows a good differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) response at APAP concentration from 100 to 1000 μM with sensitivity and a detection limit of 2.63 μAμM−1cm−2 and 1 μM. Regarding the reaction mechanism, the hydrophilic SWCNH/GCE could easily electro-catalyze APAP oxidation to form N-acetyl-p-benzoquinone-imine (NAPQI). Then NAPQI is rapidly degraded to p-benzoquinone in solutions of 0.1 M Na2SO4 and 0.05 M H2SO4 at pH 1.