Disposable screen printed graphite electrode for the direct electrochemical determination of ibuprofen in surface water

The potential of square wave voltammetry (SWV) for the determination of ibuprofen in aqueous solution, applying baseline correction, is reported. A screen printed graphite electrodes (SPGEs), especially pretreated for this purpose, were used to investigate the electrochemical oxidation and detection of ibuprofen. After optimization of SWV parameters, measurements were carried out at 200 Hz modulation frequency, 4 mV step potential and 40 mV pulse amplitude for the determination of ibuprofen. The surfaces of both untreated and pretreated SPGEs were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The electro-catalytic properties of both the electrodes were correlated with the surface treatment. The pretreated screen printed graphite electrode exhibited a high sensitivity toward ibuprofen even in low concentration. The developed method was found rapid, cost-effective and reproducible for in-field ibuprofen detection.