Quantification of Picric Acid on Nanosphere Polypyrrole Modified Electrode by Stripping Voltammetry Method

Abstract. The electrochemical studies of picric acid were carried out in acidic, neutral and basic buffer media at bare glassy carbon (GC) and polypyrrole modified GC electrode. Cyclic Voltammogram (CV) of picric acid exhibited three reduction peaks at -0.4, -0.8 and -1.5V (vs. Ag/AgCl) and two oxidation peaks at 0.8 and 1.4V (vs. Ag/AgCl). Among the various pH studied, highly sensitive response was observed at pH 1.0. The effect of scan rate was studied between 25 and 500 mVs-1 at the optimal pH.CV results revealed the adsorption-controlled reaction at the electrode surface. The GC electrode was modified with polypyrrole conducting polymer film to enhance the electrocatalytic activity of the reductive species. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) images showed the nanosphere morphology of the polypyrrole film, which was coated uniformly on the electrode surface. Under optimum experimental conditions, the influence of concentration on the stripping signal was studied. The linear range of detection was found between 50 ppb and 250 ppb with the lower limit of detection of 10±3 ppb.