Synthesis of 1-[3-(N-pyrrole)propyl]-3-[1-tert-butoxycarbonylamino-propyl]-imidazolium tetrafluoroborate ionic liquid for application in electrochemical sensing of magnolol

1-[3-(N-Pyrrole)propyl]-3-[1-tert-butoxy-carbonylamino-propyl]imidazolium tetrafluoroborate ionic liquid was successfully synthesized and characterized. The ionic liquid was electrochemically polymerized onto a glassy carbon electrode surface using a multi-potential step technique. Morphology and electrochemical properties of the polymerized ionic liquid film electrode were studied with scanning electronic microscopy and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Using the polymerized ionic liquid film as a sensing platform, electrochemical behaviors of magnolol were investigated by voltammetry. Under optimal experimental conditions, the oxidation peak currents were linearly related to magnolol concentrations in the range from 5.0 × 10 −8 to 1.0 × 10 −5  mol L −1 . The detection limit calculated from the standard deviation of the intercept was 2.3 × 10 −7  mol L −1 . Practical application of the polymerized ionic liquid film electrode was demonstrated by determining magnolol in the traditional Chinese medicine. The result is consistent with that obtained using high performance liquid chromatography. Polymerized ionic liquid film electrode fabricated with potential step technique and application in voltammetric sensing of magnolol