Study on the application of reduced graphene oxide and multiwall carbon nanotubes hybrid materials for simultaneous determination of catechol, hydroquinone, p-cresol and nitrite.

In this paper, the reduced graphene oxide and multiwall carbon nanotubes hybrid materials (RGO-MWNTs) were prepared and a strategy for detecting environmental contaminations was proposed on the basis of RGO-MWNTs modified electrode. The hybrid materials were characterized by the scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and N(2) sorption-desorption isotherms. Due to the excellent catalytic activity, enhanced electrical conductivity and high surface area of the RGO-MWNTs, the simultaneous measurement of hydroquinone (HQ), catechol (CC), p-cresol (PC) and nitrite (NO(2)(-)) with four well-separate peaks was achieved at the RGO-MWNTs modified electrode. The linear response ranges for HQ, CC, PC and NO(2)(-) were 8.0-391.0 μM, 5.5-540.0 μM, 5.0-430.0 μM and 75.0-6060.0 μM, correspondingly, and the detection limits (S/N=3) were 2.6 μM, 1.8 μM, 1.6 μM and 25.0 μM, respectively. The outstanding film forming ability of RGO-MWNTs hybrid materials endowed the modified electrode enhanced stability. Furthermore, the fabricated sensor was applied for the simultaneous determination of HQ, CC, PC and NO(2)(-) in the river water sample.