Method for Preparation of a Sol-Gel-Derived Carbon Ceramic Electrode Using Microwave Irradiation

A fast and new method for preparation of a sol-gel carbon ceramic electrode (CCE) by microwave (MW) irradiation is introduced. In comparison to previous preparation methods which require a very long time (mostly 48 h for ceramic completion and drying in air), this method requires only a few minutes. Furthermore, before MW irradiation an ultrasonic wave was applied to influence the gelation time and dispersion of particles in the sol-gel. The composition of the proposed carbon ceramic was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, which was very similar to the air-dried sol-gel carbon ceramics. The proposed electrode was used for determination of dopamine. (DA); the results show that this method has a wider linear range (LR) and lower detection limit (DL) than the air-dried CCE and exhibits a greater sensitivity for determination of DA compared to a recently reported CCE.