Electrochemical behavior of hydroquinone at multi-walled carbon nanotubes and ionic liquid composite film modified electrode.

The electrochemical behavior of hydroquinone (HQ) was studied by cyclic voltammetry at a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) modified by a gel containing multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) and room temperature ionic liquid (RTIL) of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate (BMIMPF(6)). At the modified electrode, HQ showed a pair of quasi-reversible redox peaks. The cathodic peak current value (I(pc)) of HQ was 9.608 x 10(-4)A, which is 43 times larger than the one at the GCE, and 11 times larger than that of I(pc) at the MWNTs/GCE. Furthermore, the capabilities of electron transfer on these three electrodes were also investigated by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and the similar conclusion as cyclic voltammetry has drawn. Besides, we also characterized the surface morphology of the prepared composite film using the scanning electronic microscopy (SEM). The MWNTs were pulled away from the tangle in RTIL. The solvent effect of RTIL may be the reason of higher adsorption amount. Copyright 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.