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.