Amperometric sensing of ascorbic acid using a disposable screen-printed electrode modified with electrografted o-aminophenol film

Electrode modification by electrochemical reduction of diazonium salts of different aryl derivatives is useful for catalytic, analytical and biotechnological applications. A simple and sensitive method for the electrocatalytic detection of ascorbic acid using disposable screen-printed carbon electrodes modified with an electrografted o-aminophenol film, via the electrochemical reduction of its in situ prepared diazonium salts in aqueous solution, is presented. The performance of two commercial SPEs as substrates for grafting of diazonium films has been compared and the grafting process optimized with respect to deposition time and diazonium salt concentration, with the modified surfaces being characterised using cyclic voltammetry. The functionalised screen-printed electrodes demonstrated an excellent electrocatalytic activity towards the oxidation of ascorbic acid shifting the overpotential from 298 and 544 mV to 160 and 244 mV, respectively vs. Ag/AgCl. DC amperometric measurements were carried out for the quantitative determination of ascorbic acid using the modified electrodes. The catalytic oxidation peak current was linearly dependent on the ascorbic acid concentration in the range of 2–20 μM, with a correlation coefficient 0.998, and a limit of detection of 0.86 μM was obtained with an excellent reproducibility (RSD% = 1.98, n = 8). The functionalised screen-printed electrodes exhibited notable surface stability, and were used as a simple and precise disposable sensor for the selective determination of ascorbic acid.