Study of the adsorption and oxidation of antioxidant rutin by cyclic voltammetry–voltabsorptometry

The adsorption and oxidation behavior of rutin was studied by in-situ UV spectroelectrochemistry in a long optical-path thin-layer electrochemical cell with a graphite-wax electrode. The dynamic UV spectra of rutin under potentiostatic oxidation were recorded, which indicated the formation of o-quinonic structure. During the repetitive cyclic potential scans, cyclic voltabsorptomogram was recorded at the three characteristic wavelengths 346, 254 and 296 nm, respectively. The profiles obtained showed two types of concentration fluctuation of species in solution, resulting from adsorption/desorption and redox reaction, respectively. Using derivative cyclic voltabsorptometry the contribution of the species in solution to the total current was estimated, and then the current of every step involved in the proposed redox mechanism was obtained for the first time. The result shows that rutin underwent a nearly reversible redox reaction in which the total current is mostly due to the contribution of adsorbed species. The present work developed cyclic voltabsorptometry into a useful tool for investigating redox process involving coupled adsorption/desorption steps.