Voltammetric sensing of the fuel dye marker Solvent Blue 14 by screen-printed electrodes

A voltammetric method was developed to detect Solvent Blue 14 (SB-14) dye marker in fuel ethanol and kerosene samples. The device is based on a screen-printed carbon electrode (SPCE) operating in a Brition-Robinson buffer with N,N-dimethylformamide (7:3, v/v) and 5.50 x 10(-4) mol L-1 of Dioctyl sulfosuccinate sodium (DSS) where the anthraquinone group of the dye is reduced at -0.40V. The peak intensity is triplicated in the presence of the surfactant, which forms a charged film on the electrode surface acting as an anti-fouling agent. Using the best experimental conditions, the electroanalytical method presents a linear response for 2.00 x 10(-7) to 2.00 x 10(-6) mol L-1 SB-14 dye (r=0.9986) and a detection limit of 9.30 x 10(-8) mol L-1. The developed method was successfully utilized for the quantification of SB-14 dye in alcohol samples Without any pre-treatment and in kerosene (after rapid clean-up procedure) with recoveries of 82.00-99.00%, respectively. The values are in good accordance with other reference methods based on spectrophotometric analysis. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.