Electrochemical oxidation of paracetamol on boron-doped diamond electrode: analytical performance and paracetamol degradation

Abstract

Electrochemical oxidation of paracetamol on boron-doped diamond (BDD) anode has been studied by cyclic voltammetry and preparative electrolysis. Quantification of paracetamol during electrolysis has been mainly realized by differential pulse voltammetry technique in the Britton-Robinson buffer solutions used as the supporting electrolyte. Various parameters such as current intensity, nature of the supporting electrolyte, temperature, and initial concentration of paracetamol have been investigated. The electrochemical characterization by the outer sphere Fe(III)/Fe(II) redox couple has also been performed, showing the metallic character of BDD electrode. The obtained linear dependency of the oxidation peak current intensity and paracetamol concentration indicates that BDD electrode can be used as an electrochemical sensor for the detection and quantification of paracetamol. The investi­gation of paracetamol degradation during preparative electrolysis showed that: (i) the degradation rate of paracetamol increases with increase of current intensity applied; (ii) for the initial concentrations of 10, 6 and 1 mM of paracetamol, its oxidation rate reaches 60, 78 and 99 % respectively, after 1 h of electrolysis in 0.3 M H₂SO₄ (pH 0.6) at applied current density of 70 mA cm^-2; (iii) at temperatures of electrolyte solution of 28, 55 and 75 °C, paracetamol oxidation rate reached 85, 92 and 97 % respectively, after 2 h at applied current density of 70 mA cm^-2. From the investigation of the effect of pH value of electrolyte solution, it appears that oxidation of paracetamol is more favorable in acidic solution at pH 3 than solutions of higher pH values.