The electrochemical behavior of phenol, using glassy carbon (GC) modified electrodes containing a hydrotalcite (HT)-like clay and anionic surfactants such as sodium octyl sulfate (SOS), sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), or sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate (SDBS) in alkaline media, has been examined. Phenol oxidation at the modified electrodes, after a time accumulation under open circuit conditions, promotes increments of the current and shifts the oxidation potential to less positive values, compared to phenol oxidation at HT-GC or GC electrodes. The phenol oxidation is favored by the presence of surfactants in the films. The results suggest that the surfactant molecules intercalate between the HT layers, yielding a hydrophobic clay capable of preconcentrating phenol molecules. X-ray diffraction analyses showed a larger spacing of the HT layers when the surfactant intercalates between them. Cyclic voltammograms have shown that the SOS-HT-GC modified electrode exhibits short-lived activity for phenol oxidation as a consequence of surface fouling, while the SDS-HT-GC and SDBS-HT-GC modified electrodes showed a more stable behavior. The SDBS-HT-GC modified electrode was the most effective adsorbing phenol, since the charge (Q), obtained from the integration of the anodic peak current of the phenol, is higher at this modified electrode. This is probably because the adsolubilization capacity of phenol on the SDBS-HT-GC electrode is higher than on SDS-HT-GC electrode. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.