Screen-Printed Carbon Electrode Modified with ZrO2/Ag/GO for Simultaneous Detection of Catechol and Hydroquinone

TL;DR

Researchers developed a modified electrode to detect environmental pollutants catechol and hydroquinone with high sensitivity and accuracy.

Contribution

A novel hybrid composite of ZrO2, Ag, and GO was fabricated and used for simultaneous detection of catechol and hydroquinone.

Findings

The sensor showed linearity from 0–100 µM for both hydroquinone and catechol.

The detection limits were 1.5 µM for hydroquinone and 0.72 µM for catechol.

The modified electrode demonstrated strong anti-interference and stability for environmental monitoring.

Abstract

This study presents a straightforward process for producing a hybrid ternary composite of silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs), small graphene oxide (s-GO), and zirconia (ZrO2) and its use as an electrode material for electrochemical sensing. The physico-chemical properties of the ternary composite were analyzed by means of field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) and FTIR spectroscopy, X-ray Photoelectron Spectrometry (XPS) and contact angle (CA) measurements. The synthesized hybrid nanomaterial was employed as an electrode modifier in the fabrication of a modified screen-printed carbon electrode (SPCE) and used for the simultaneous electrochemical sensing of key environmental pollutants such as hydroquinone (HQ) and catechol (CAT). The developed sensor exhibited linearity in the range of 0–100 µM for both HQ and CAT, with sensitivity values of 2640 µA·mM−1·cm−2 for HQ and 5120 µA·mM−1·cm−2 for CAT. The limits of detection (LOD) were 1.5 µM for HQ and 0.72 µM for CAT, respectively. The synergistic enhancement of electron transfer kinetics, the increased electroactive surface area, the strong anti-interference capability, and excellent reproducibility and stability establish these modified electrodes as promising candidates for environmental monitoring and real sample analysis.

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