Electrochemical and electrocatalytic studies of toluidine blue immobilized on a silica gel surface coated with niobium oxide

Abstract

The electrochemical behavior of toluidine blue (TB) adsorbed on a silica surface modified with niobium oxide (SN) was investigated using a modified carbon paste electrode. The presence of SN gave the electrode high stability, avoiding the leaching out of the mediator from the electrode surface. The formal potential (E0′) of the adsorbed TB was -113 mV vs. SCE, indicating a shift of almost 100 mV towards more positive potential values, compared to TB dissolved in aqueous solution or adsorbed on carbon paste. The stability and formal potential remained constant upon changing the solution pH in the range 5 to 8. In these solution pH values the electrocatalytic activity remained almost constant with a sensitivity of 1.2 10-4 A L mol-1 cm-2 and a KMapp of 4.9 10-5 mol L-1. A linear response range for NADH concentration between 2.0 10-4 and 4.0 10-3 mol L-1 at pH 7.0, with a detection limit of 3.4 10-5 mol L-1 was observed for the sensor. A response time of 2 s and a precision of 1.0 %, expressed as relative standard deviation for 10 replicates, were observed for the sensor developed.