Voltammetric response of a copper(II) complex incorporated in silica-modified carbon-paste electrode Original Research Article

This work describes the preparation, characterization and use of the complex formed by Cu(II) with 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane immobilized on silica gel, incorporated into a carbon-paste electrode. The electrochemical studies were carried out in deaerated, 0.1 mol l−1 KCl solution through cyclic voltammetry by scanning the potential from +1.0 to −1.0 V. Two redox processes were observed that could be assigned to Cu(II)/Cu(I). The formal standard potentials, E0′ (where E0′=(Epa+Epc)/2; Epa the anodic and Epc the cathodic peak potentials), of the first and second redox couples were calculated, giving 94 and −274 mV vs. Ag/AgCl, respectively. The dependence of peak potential on the sweeping rate, indicated a quasi-reversible behavior. From the plot of Ip vs. v1/2 (Ip is the peak current and v the scan rate), a straight line was obtained at low scan rates (<20 mV s−1), which means that the current–potential curves are controlled by diffusive transport. This behavior is similar to that usually observed for solution species, although the complex in this case is adsorbed on the matrix. Our results show that the modified electrode presents catalytic activity for oxygen reduction because the saturation of the solution in the cell with pure oxygen causes a considerable enhancement of the cathodic peak current. The analysis of the current–potential curves recorded at the rotating disk electrode indicates that the copper-complex catalyzes the four-electron reduction of O2 to H2O. Chronoamperometric measurements show the potentiality of the use of this working electrode as an amperometric sensor for dissolved dioxygen in aqueous media.