Electrosynthesis of an imidazole derivative and its application as a bifunctional electrocatalyst for simultaneous determination of ascorbic acid, adrenaline, acetaminophen, and tryptophan at a multi-wall carbon nanotubes modified electrode surface.

In this research, the electrosynthesis of 4-(1H-benzo[d]imidazol-2-ylthio)-5-methylbenze-1,2-diol (as an imidazole derivative) is reported. An imidazole derivative multi-wall carbon nanotube modified glassy carbon electrode (IMWCNT-GCE) was constructed and used as an excellent bifunctional electrocatalyst for oxidation of ascorbic acid (AA) and adrenaline (AD). Cyclic voltammetry was used to calculate the surface electron transfer rate constant, k(s), and the electron transfer coefficient, α, for the electron transfer between MWCNT-GCE and the electrodeposited imidazole derivative. The kinetic parameters such as the electron transfer coefficient, α, and the heterogeneous rate constant, k', for the oxidation of AA and AD at the IMWCNT-GCE surface were estimated. The modified electrode was found quite effective for the simultaneous determination of AA, AD, acetaminophen (AC), and tryptophan (Trp) in a mixture solution. The detection limits of AA and AD were calculated as 0.96 μM and 0.38 μM, respectively. Finally, IMWCNT-GCE was satisfactorily used for the determination of AA, AD, and AC in pharmaceutical samples.