Electrocatalytic Activity of Riboflavin Chemically Modified Electrode Toward Dioxygen Reduction

A chemically modified electrode (CME) exhibiting electrocatalytic response toward dioxygen was constructed by adsorbing the mediator riboflavin onto spectroscopic graphite. The electron transfer between the riboflavin functionality and the graphite was fast. The surface apparent coverage was at most 9.6 × 10−10 mol cm−2. The modified electrode permitted the dioxygen electroreduction to take place at the reduction potential of the mediator molecule. Dioxygen accepted two electrons from a reduced mediator to form hydrogen peroxide. Characterisation of the performance of the CME was carried out. After 30 min of continuous electrochemical cycling of pH 6.8, 30% of the original coverage remained for the CME. The effect of the solution pH and temperature on the electrocatalytic activity of the CME for oxygen reduction was also investigated.