Hematoxylin multi-wall carbon nanotubes modified glassy carbon electrode for electrocatalytic oxidation of hydrazine

Abstract A new hydrazine sensor has been fabricated by immobilizing hematoxylin at the surface of a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) modified with multi-wall carbon nanotube (MWCNT). The adsorbed thin films of hematoxylin on the MWCNT modified GCE show one pair of peaks with surface confined characteristics. The hematoxylin MWCNT (HMWCNT) modified GCE shows highly catalytic activity toward hydrazine electro-oxidation. The results show that the peak potential of hydrazine at HMWCNT modified GCE surface shifted by about 167 and 255 mV toward negative values compared with that at an MWCNT and activated modified GCE surface, respectively. In addition, at HMWCNT modified electrode surface remarkably improvement the sensitivity of determination of hydrazine. The kinetic parameters, such as the electron transfer coefficient, α , and the standard heterogeneous rate constant, k 0 , for oxidation of hydrazine at the HMWCNT modified GCE were determined and also is shown that the heterogeneous rate constant, k ′, is strongly potential dependent. The overall number of electron involved in the catalytic oxidation of hydrazine and the number of electrons involved in the rate-determining steps are 2 and 1, respectively. The amperometric detection of hydrazine is carried out at 220 mV in 0.1 M phosphate buffer solution (pH 7) with linear response range 2.0–122.8 μM hydrazine, detection limit of 0.68 μM and sensitivity of 0.0208 μA μM −1 . Finally the amperometric response for hydrazine determination is reproducible, fast and extremely stable, with no loss in sensitivity over a continual 400 s operation.