A facile approach to the synthesis of hydrophobic iron tetrasulfophthalocyanine (FeTSPc) nano-aggregates on multi-walled carbon nanotubes: A potential electrocatalyst for the detection of dopamine

A facile method has been utilized to synthesize a hydrophobic form of nano-scaled iron (II) tetrasulfophthalocyanine (nanoFeTSPc), integrated with functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (fMWCNT-nanoFeTSPc). The nanocomposite was characterized by UV–visible spectra, EDX, FESEM, and TEM. The electrocatalytic properties of the film on a glassy carbon electrode were investigated using cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, chronoamperometry and square wave voltammetry. The fMWCNT-nanoFeTSPc modified electrode demonstrated higher catalytic performance in terms of electron transport and current response compared to the other electrodes studied towards dopamine (DA) detection giving a sensitivity of 0.314 μA μM−1 and a limit of detection of 9.86 × 10−8 mol L−1. A selective detection was realized in elimination of ascorbic acid response on the film of fMWCNT-nanoFeTSPc. The detection limit in the presence of a high concentration of ascorbic acid was 3.5 × 10−7 mol L−1.