Carbon Nanotube Ionic Liquid Composite Electrode

Carbon nanotubes (CNT) represent an important group of nanomaterials with attractive electronic, chemical, and mechanical properties [1]. The unique properties of carbon nanotubes make them extremely attractive for the task of chemical sensors, in general and electrochemical detection, in particular [2]. Recent studies demonstrated that CNT can impart strong electrocatalytic activity and minimization of surface fouling in electrochemical systems. Several authors [3] have reported the excellent electrocatalytic properties of nanotubes towards different biomolecules.Rivas et al. [4] described the attractive performance of a composite material prepared by dispersion of MWNTs within mineral oil. The new material combines the advantages of composite materials with the electrochemical properties of carbon nanotubes. Recently, we proposed carbon ionic liquid electrode (CILE) as a high performance electrode with many good features and provision of high rates of electron transfer [5,6].The present work reports the advantages of carbon nanotubes ionic liquid electrodes (CNTILE) prepared in an easy, fast and very effective way by using ionic liquid as binder. The resulting CNTILE retains the properties of the carbon ionic liquid electrode (CILE) such as the feasibility to incorporate different substances, the easy renewal and composite nature. Therefore, this new composite electrode combines the ability of carbon nanotubes to promote electron-transfer reactions with the attractive advantages of composite materials. The electrochemical behavior of different biomolecules such as dopamine and ascorbic acid at this new composite material is described