Electrochemical determination of 2-chlorophenol using an acetylene black film modified glassy carbon electrode

Herein, an insoluble acetylene black (AB) was dispersed into water in the presence of a special kind of surfactant: dihexadecyl hydrogen phosphate (DHP), resulting in a homogeneous and stable AB-DHP suspension. Thus, a novel AB-DHP composite film coated glassy carbon electrode (GCE) was fabricated via coating technology. Additionally, the electrochemical behaviors of 2-chlorophenol at bare GCE, DHP-modifed GCE, and AB-DHP modified GCE were investigated, respectively. Compared with the unmodified and DHP-coated GCE, the AB-DHP film-modified GCE significantly enhances the oxidation peak current of 2-chlorophenol, and thus greatly improves its determining sensitivity, suggesting that this new modified electrode has great potential in the determination of trace level of 2-chlorophenol. All the experimental conditions, which affect the electrochemical response of 2-chlorophenol, were studied. Finally, a sensitive and simple voltammetric method with a good linear relationship in the range 2.0×10−7–4.0×10−5 mol/L, was developed. The detection limit of 2-chlorophenol was 5.0×10−8 mol/L for 2 min accumulation (S/N=3). This electrode was successfully applied to detect 2-chlorophenol in water samples.