Preparation of tetraheptylammonium iodide-iodine graphite-multiwall carbon nanotube paste electrode: electrocatalytic determination of ascorbic acid in pharmaceuticals and foods.

The present work describes the construction of a new modified graphite-multiwall carbon nanotube paste electrode by casting the appropriate mixture of tetraheptylammonium iodide-iodine as a new modifier. The modified paste electrode was used for the determination of ascorbic acid (AA) in a phosphate buffer solution (pH 2.0). When compared to activated carbon, a graphite and multiwall carbon nanotube paste electrode containing a new modifier, the proposed modified paste electrode not only shifted the oxidation potential of AA towards a less-positive potential but also enhanced its oxidation peak current. Further, the oxidation of AA was highly stable at the modified paste electrode. The optimum analytical conditions were sought. The current response of AA increases linearly while increasing its concentration from 5.6 × 10(-5) to 1.2 × 10(-2) M with a correlation coefficient of 0.9991; the detection limit (3σ) was found to be of 3.6 × 10(-5) M. The present modified paste electrode was also successfully used for the determination of AA in the presence of common interference compounds. The present modified electrode was successfully demonstrated towards the determination of AA in pharmaceutical and food samples. 2011 © The Japan Society for Analytical Chemistry