Study on the electrochemical properties of maltol at a carbon paste electrode and its analytical application

Abstract

A new voltammetric sensor for the detection of maltol was developed, based on the carbon paste electrode (CPE) which allows for lower background current and more reproducible responses. The resulting sensor exhibits excellent redox activity towards maltol. For contrast, the electrochemical properties of maltol were compared on three paste electrodes, based on graphite powder (GP), carbon nanotubes (CNT) and graphene (Gr). The best response of maltol was obtained at the CPE. Further experiments demonstrated that the oxidative peaks increased linearly with maltol concentration in the range of 1.0 × 10⁻⁷ to 4.0 × 10⁻⁵ mol L⁻¹ with a detection limit of 4.0 × 10⁻⁸ mol L⁻¹. The method was successfully applied to detect maltol in beers with satisfactory results. Furthermore, the dynamic parameters and mechanism of electrode reaction were investigated using various electrochemical techniques.