Electrochemical behavior of eugenol on TiO2 nanotubes improved with Cu2O clusters

TiO2 nanotubes incorporated with Cu2O clusters (Cu2O-TiNTs) were synthesized and employed as a probe for the rapid and sensitive voltammetric determination of eugenol. The electrochemical behavior of eugenol on the electrodes modified with Cu2O-TiNTs was explored systematically using cyclic voltammetry as a function of concentration of eugenol, scan rate, Cu2O content, and calcination temperature, respectively. Furthermore, the electrochemical response mechanism on these modified electrodes was discussed preliminarily. The results indicate that the electrodes coated with Cu2O-TiNTs possess high sensitivity to eugenol with a detectable concentration of 1.3 x 10(-6) mol L-1. Here, the tubular structure of TiO2 nanotubes plays a key role in the electrochemical performance of Cu2O-TiNTs. The TiO2 nanotubes serve as an electron-transfer channel to enhance the electron transfer between eugenol molecules and electrode surface. Meanwhile, the Cu2O clusters serve as a promoter to further make the electron transfer more efficient and as a stabilizer to avoid change of the tubular structure of TiO2 nanotubes during calcination.