Electrochemical Polymerization of Ruthenium(II) Complex and Application to Acetaminophen Analysis

A novel ruthenium(II) complex, [$RuCl_2(DMSO)_2$(PhenTPy)] has been synthesized by the condensation of $RuCl_2(DMSO)_4$ with (1-(1,10-phenanthrolinyl)-2,5-di(2-thienyl)-1H-pyrrole)[PhenTPy] in $CHCl_3$ solution. The [$RuCl_2(DMSO)_2$(PhenTPy)] complex modified electrode was fabricated through the electropolymerization of the monomer in a 0.1 M tetrabutylammonium perchlorate (TBAP)/$CH_2Cl_2$ solution, to take advantage of the electronic communication between metal ion center by the conjugated backbone. The UV-visible spectroscopy (UV), mass spectrometry (MS), and cyclic voltammetry (CV) were employed to characterize the [$RuCl_2(DMSO)_2$(PhenTPy)] complex and its polymer (poly-Ru(II)Phen complex). The poly-Ru(II)Phen complex modified electrode exhibited an electrocatalytic activity to the oxidation of acetaminophen and the catalytic property was used for the analysis of acetaminophen at the concentration range between 0.09 and 0.01 mM in a phosphate buffer solution (pH 7.0).