A new material formed by Shiff base (chitosan and ortho-vanillin) and copper were synthesized and characterized by UV-visible, infrared spectroscopies, thermal analysis, elemental analysis, electron microscopy, 1H NMR spectra and electrochemical techniques. In this study, it was possible to identify the formation of Schiff’s base (BS), with a degree of substitution of 42.5% by NMR. The electron microscopy study indicates an amorphous character for BS. The material was used to build an electrode, which proved to be sensitive to the addition of nitrite, making it possible to quantify it. The values obtained for detection limit and limit of quantification of the electrode formed BS-Cu were 0.062 µmol L-1 and 0.21 µmol L-1, respectively.