Selective Electrochemical Determination of Paracetamol using Hematite/Graphene Nanocomposite Modified Electrode Prepared in a Green Chemical Route

Abstract An eco-friendly procedure for the preparation of high-quality graphene incorporated iron oxide nanocomposite is reported, which is effectively used for the electrochemical determination of acetaminophen drug. The graphene dispersion is prepared by the exfoliation of graphite in a green solvent (water/ethanol 90:10 vol%/vol%) in the presence of a non-ionic surfactant for better yields. Material characterization studies reveal the less defective nature of graphene sheets as well as the exclusive formation of the hematite phase of iron(III) oxide in the nanocomposite. Electrocatalytic sensing of acetaminophen is carried out using cyclic voltammetric and differential pulse voltammetric measurements. A high linear concentration range of 0.3 μM - 1800 μM acetaminophen is observed over the α-Fe2O3/graphene nanocomposite modified glassy carbon electrode. The nanocomposite is found to be highly selective in the detection of acetaminophen with the presence of dopamine and other common contaminants interfered in human sample analysis. The analytical utility of the hematite/graphene-modified electrode in the estimation of the real tablet sample is also investigated.