Indirect determination of formaldehyde by square-wave voltammetry based on the electrochemical oxidation of 3,5–diacetyl–1,4–dihydrolutidine using an unmodified glassy-carbon electrode

Publication date: 1 June 2019

Source: Talanta, Volume 198

Author(s): Gabriel F. Pinto, Diego P. Rocha, Eduardo M. Richter, Rodrigo A.A. Muñoz, Sidnei G. Silva

Abstract

A novel and indirect voltammetric procedure for the selective determination of formaldehyde is described. It is based on the oxidation of 3,5–diacetyl–1,4–dihydrolutidine (DDL) on an unmodified glassy-carbon electrode (GCE), generated by the selective reaction between formaldehyde and acetylacetone. A single oxidation peak of DDL at +0.8 V was observed, while formaldehyde is not electroactive under this condition, showing that this reaction can be used to indirect and selective detection of formaldehyde. Under the optimized conditions, a linear response between 0.4 and 40.0 mg L⁻¹ and a detection limit of 0.13 mg L⁻¹ were achieved, with a relative standard deviation of 0.7% (n = 10, 10 mg L⁻¹). Due to the selectivity of this reaction to formaldehyde, this method is free from interference of other aldehydes. The procedure is a promising alternative for rapid formaldehyde determination in a wide range of samples.

Graphical abstract

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