Voltammetric behavior of benzo[a]pyrene at boron-doped diamond electrode: A study of its determination by adsorptive transfer stripping voltammetry based on the enhancement effect of anionic surfactant, sodium dodecylsulfate

Benzo[a]pyrene (BaP), a member of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) class, is one of the most potent PAH carcinogens. The electrochemical oxidation of BaP was first studied by cyclic voltammetry at the boron-doped diamond electrode in non-aqueous solvent (dimethylsulphoxide with lithium perchlorate). The compound was irreversibly oxidized in a single step at high positive potential, resulting in the well-resolved formation of a couple with a reduction and re-oxidation wave at much lower potentials. Special attention was given to the use of adsorptive stripping voltammetry together with a medium exchange procedure in aqueous and aqueous/surfactant solutions over the pH range of 2.0–8.0. The technique in aqueous solutions had little value in practice because of too small oxidation peak current. This problem was solved when surfactants were added into the sample solution, by which the oxidation peak currents of BaP were found enhanced dramatically. The employed surfactants were sodium dodecylsulfate (anionic, SDS), cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (cationic, CTAB) and Tween 80 (non-ionic). Using square-wave stripping mode, the compound yielded a well-defined voltammetric response in Britton–Robinson buffer, pH 2.0 containing 2.5 × 10−4 M SDS at +1.07 V (vs. Ag/AgCl) (after 120 s accumulation at +0.10 V). The process could be used to determine BaP in the concentration range of 16–200 nM (4.04–50.46 ng mL−1), with a detection limit of 2.86 nM (0.72 ng mL−1). This method was also applied to determine BaP in model water sample prepared by adding its different concentrations into tap water.