Simple and ultrasensitive chemically amplified electrochemical detection of ferrocenemethanol on 4-nitrophenyl grafted glassy carbon electrode

Chemically amplified electrochemical detection, redox-active probe being amplified its electrochemical anodic current by a sacrificial electron donor presenting in solution, holds great potential for simple and quantitative bioanalytical analysis. Herein, we report the chemically amplified electrochemical analysis that drastically enhanced a detection of ferrocenemethanol (analyte) by ferrocyanide (chemical amplifier) on 4-nitrophenyl grafted glassy carbon electrodes at 60°C. The glassy carbon electrode grafted with a 4-nitrophenyl group using an electrochemical reduction suppressed the oxidation of ferrocyanide and thus enabled detection of ferrocenemethanol with excellent selectivity. The ferrocenemethanol was detected down to an nM range using a linear sweep voltammetry under kinetically optimized conditions. The detection limit was improved by decreasing the concentration of the ferrocyanide and increasing temperature.