Electrochemical synthesis and characterization of poly(2,2'-dithiodianiline) thin films loaded with copper microparticles.: Application to the amperometric analysis of γ-aminobutyric acid

Modified electrodes with poly(2,2'-dithiodianiline),PDTDA, were prepared from the corresponding monomer by cyclic voltammetry between 0.0 V and 1.5-1.6 V on gold or stainless steel respectively. The potentiodynamic method proved to bring about good quality and adherent thin films. The wide potential window shown by this modified electrode allowed attempting the insertion of copper in the polymeric matrix using several strategies. The response of this modified electrode copper was checked in the presence of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA). Copper loaded on PDTDA/Au electrodes showed the highest sensitivity along with a stable and reproducible response for the detection of GABA. The surface morphology and composition analysis by SEM and XPS shows that copper is deposited in the polymeric matrix as uniformly scattered microparticles. The surface of these particles is mainly composed of Cu(I) species.