Voltammetric Detection of Thymol (THY) Using Polyacrylamide Embedded Graphite Molecular Imprinted Polymer (PAM@G -MIP) Electrode

A polyacrylamide embedded graphite molecular imprinted polymer electrode (PAM@G-MIP) was synthesized for the determination of Thymol (THY); an important biocide used for various medical formulation. The electrochemical properties of THY molecule were investigated in 0.1-M phosphate buffer solution at pH 6. Under the optimized experimental condition the linear range for THY detection was obtained from 0.5 to 10 $\mu \text{M}$ and 10 to $300~\mu \text{M}$ for the MIP embedded graphite electrode. The limit of detection (LOD) for the electrode was found to be 0.043 $\mu \text{M}$ which was the lowest amongst the published literature. The PAM@G-MIP electrode material was characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and ultra violet–visible (UV-Vis.) spectroscopy. The PAM@G–MIP electrode shows good repeatability, reproducibility, and selectivity for THY detection. Due to cross-linking, the polymer is mechanically robust and insoluble in any solvent. Furthermore, the developed polyacrylamide embedded graphite molecular imprinted polymer electrode has been successfully applied for the determination of THY in dental mouth wash and honey samples.