Introduction to Electrochemistry and Electroanalysis with Carbon Paste–Based Electrodes - Electroanalysis with Carbon Paste Electrodes - page 7

research.activities.that.accompany.the.electrochemistry.and.electroanalysis.with.carbon.paste-based.
electrodes.until.now.
In.order.to.describe.the.earlier.stated.and.to.illustrate.the.situation.on.the.verge.of.the.centuries,.
some. examples. can. be. given.. An. inorganic. or. organic. hybrid. was. of. interest. in. studies. [85,86],.
whereas. the. use. of. a. traditional. analytical. reagent. in. a. new. role. of. mediator. is. reported. in. [87],.
demonstrating.also.a.special.immobilization.of.the.sol-gel.type..Such.procedures,.as.cross-linking.
of.an.enzyme.[88],.were.usually.connected.with.applications.of.silica.and.titanica.porous.matrices,.
representing. yet. another. example. of. “modern”. modiiers. whose. boom. had. peaked. mainly. in. the.
1990s.[89].
Among.typical.trends.of.the.early.2000s,.one.can.quote.the.advanced.investigations.of.nucleic.
acids.[90],.with.the.roots.in.the.previous.decade.(see,.e.g.,.[91].or.[92],.the.former.being.also.notable.
for.the.lowest.detection.limit.ever.reported.for.a.CPE:.4.×.10 −16 .mol.L −1 .[7]);.the.increasing.use.of.
various.nanomaterials.(e.g.,.colloidal.gold.[93],.renamed.soon.to.nanogold.[94],.apparently,.under.
the.inluence.of.contemporary.nomenclature—see. also.a.critical.note.in.[84]),.continuing. efforts.
in.seeking.novel.types.of.CPEs.(such.as.“glassy.carbon.paste.electrode”.[GCPE].[95],.having.an.
almost.identical.predecessor.in.the.productive.1990s.[96]).or.further.expansion.of.SP(C)Es.([97],.
in.this.case,.sorted.among.CPEs.by.the.authors.themselves)..Finally,.there.are.also.some.rarities;.
for. instance,. (probably). the. irst. prototype. of. a. reference. electrode. based. on. carbon. paste. [98],.
cyanobacteria-containing.carbon.paste.applied.to.accomplish.the.photoelectrochemical.oxidation.
of.water.[99].or.a.novel.solar.cell.[100],.documenting.once.again.the.potentialities.of.carbon.pastes.
in.new.technologies.
1.1.10 2002-2003: C arbon p asTes F olloW The C onCepT oF g reen C heMisTry
This.point.relects.the.growing.intensity.of.the.ecologic.aspects.of.modern.instrumental.analysis.
and.the.associated.research,.giving.rise.to.a.new.ield.of.“green.chemistry”.[101].
In. this. respect,. carbon. pastes. as. such. are. quite. a. ine. material,. when. traditional. mixtures. are.
practically. nontoxic.. Nevertheless. and. despite. this,. the. investigations. with. CPEs,. CMCPEs,. and.
CP-biosensors.were.further.directed.toward.the.green-chemistry.concept..One.of.the.most.typical.
activities.of.the.last.decade.was.the.search.for.an.alternative.to.controversial.mercury.electrodes,.
which. would. be. applicable. in. electrochemical. stripping. analysis. (ESA). to. the. determination. of.
heavy.metal.ions,.with.comparable.performance..Moreover,.the.great.success.with.the.bismuth.ilm.
electrode. (BiFE),. introduced. under. these. circumstances. in. 2000. [102],. opened. a. door. for. a. new.
electroanalytical.area.with.nonmercury.metallic.electrodes,.where.carbon.pastes.had.been.among.
the.irsts.[103,104],.still.the.most.frequently.used.electrode.substrates.thanks.to.the.diversity.with.
which.they.can.be.modiied.with.bismuth.and.bismuth.compounds.
Other.contributions.that.were.ecologically.useful.[105-110].appeared.in.parallel.with.the.early.
reports.on.bismuth-ilm.plated.CPEs.(BiF-CPEs)..Thus,.there.was.an.interesting.method.for.specia-
tion.of.Hg 2 2+ .and.Hg 2+ .[105];.determination.of.Hg(II),.Pb(II),.and.Cd(II).[106,107];.or.differentiation.
and.subsequent.quantiication.of.both.As III .and.As V .[108],.all.representing.highly.toxic.species.in.the.
environment..Finally,.similar.methods.have.been.proposed.for.notorious.organic.pollutants.such.as.
phenol.[109].and.two.commercial.herbicides.[110],.which.were.also.phenolic.derivatives.
1.1.11 2003-2010: b rand n eW C arbon p asTes and T heir i MMediaTe s uCCess
The.last.period.of.our.chronicle.concerns.again.a.number.of.the.previously.pursued.activities,.such.
as.the.continuing.employment.of.various.CMCPEs.and.solid-like.CPEs.in.inorganic.and.organic.
analyses,.pharmaceutical.and.clinical.analyses,.or.for.the.investigation.and.determination.of.numer-
ous.biologically.important.compounds..At.still.growing.intensity,.there.have.been.further.applica-
tions.of.new.materials,.novel.types.of.modiiers,.as.well.as.various.innovative.procedures..All.these.