Analusis 28, 238-244 (2000)
DOI: 10.1051/analusis:2000115

Electrocatalysis of the reduction of organic halide derivatives at modified electrodes coated by cobalt and iron macrocyclic complex-based films: application to the electrochemical determination of pollutants

A. Alatorre Ordaz¹, J. Manriquez Rocha², F. J. Acevedo Aguilar², S. Gutierrez Granados² and F. Bedioui<sup>1

1</sup>  Laboratoire d'Électrochimie et de Chimie Analytique (UMR n° 7575 du CNRS), École Nationale Supérieure de Chimie de Paris, 11, rue Pierre et Marie Curie, 75231 Paris Cedex 05, France
²  Instituto de Investigaciones Cientificas de la Universidad de Guanajuato, Cerro de la Venada S/N, Pueblito de Rocha, 36040 Guanajuato, Mexico

(Received December 12, 1999; revised March 20, 2000; accepted March 20, 2000.)

Abstract
In this study, we go into the examination of the possible use of chemically modified electrodes by Hemin embedded in surfactant film of didodecyldimethylammonium bromide or by electropolymerized cobalt porphyrin and Salen films, as potential materials for the effective electrochemical detection of several organic halides (trichloroacetic acid, ethylene dibromide, tetrachloroethylene, trichloroethylene, dichloroacetic acid, 2,4,6-trichlorophenol, 2,4-dichlorophenoxy acetic acid, methoxychloride, etc.), in aqueous and organic solutions. The reported results show an important catalytic effect induced by the modification of the electrode surface by the metal complexes which is materialized by 1.0 V decrease in the reduction potential of the examined organic halide derivatives and a large increase in their reduction current (2 to 500 times). Our descriptive results of the electrocatalytic behaviour of the examined electrodes constitute a first important step in the investigation of the evaluation of a strategy materializing the use of these modified electrodes for the detection of various significant organohalide derivatives.

Key words: Electrocatalysis -- modified electrodes -- detection -- pollutants -- complexes -- organohalides.


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