Voltammetric Determination of Metol on a Gold Nanoparticle Modified Carbon Molecular Wire Electrode

A carbon molecular wire electrode was fabricated using diphenylacetylene as the modifier and gold nanoparticles were electrodeposited on the surface. The morphology and electrochemical properties of this modified electrode were investigated by scanning electron microscopy and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Two well-defined peaks for metol appeared using this gold nanoparticle-modified carbon molecular wire electrode by cyclic voltammetry with a high current response. These results demonstrate a synergistic effect between the gold nanoparticles and the carbon molecular wire electrode resulting in a rapid electrochemical reaction. The electrochemical conditions for metol were optimized on the modified electrode and a detection limit of 0.64 µmol/L and a linear dynamic range between 2.0 to 800.0 µmol/L were obtained. This modified electrode provided good selectivity, high sensitivity, and acceptable reproducibility, demonstrating promise for the determination of metol in the water.