Electrochemical Determination of Capsaicin by Ionic Liquid Composite-Modified Electrode

An electrochemical detection method for capsaicin has been developed using ionic liquid (IL) doped graphene-titania-Nafion composite-modified electrode. The combination of IL (1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium with hexafluorophosphate counter ion) in the composite-modified electrode resulted in a significantly increased electrochemical response for capsaicin compared to that obtained at the corresponding electrode without IL. The increased electrochemical signal could be ascribed to the decreased electron transfer resistance through the composite film and also to the effective accumulation of capsaicin on the electrode surface due to ${\pi}-{\pi}$ interaction of the imidazole groups of IL with the aromatic rings of capsaicin. The present IL composite-modified electrode can detect capsaicin with a concentration range from $3.0{\times}10^{-8}M$ to $1.0{\times}10^{-5}M$ with a detection limit of $3.17{\times}10^{-9}M$ (S/N = 3). The present sensor showed good reproducibility (RSD = 3.2%).