Analytical Sciences

Voltammetric Detection of Oxalic Acid by Using Glassy Carbon Electrodes with Covalently Attached Nitrogen-containing Functional Groups

Hiroaki MATSUURA,*,** Syuhei AKABE,* Tsubasa KITAMURA,* Takuto TAKAHASHI,* and Shunichi UCHIYAMA*

*Department of Applied Chemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, Saitama Institute of Technology, 1690 Fusaiji, Fukaya, Saitama 369-0293, Japan
**Department of Life Science & Green Chemistry, Faculty of Engineering, Saitama Institute of Technology, 1690 Fusaiji, Fukaya, Saitama 369-0293, Japan

We report on a novel voltammetric detection of oxalic acid by using glassy carbon electrodes with covalently attached nitrogen-containing functional groups prepared by stepwise electrolysis. A glassy carbon electrode electrooxidized in an ammonium carbamate solution was electroreduced at –1.0 V (vs. Ag/AgCl) in 1.0 M sulfuric acid for a long time. We found that the electrocatalytic oxidation wave of oxalic acid obtained by this modified glassy carbon electrode was moved to a more negative potential region than that obtained by a platinum electrode in an acidic medium. A good linearity for the peak current signals was observed in the concentration range from 0.1 to 50 mM.

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