Self-assembled Ti3C2 /MWCNTs nanocomposites modified glassy carbon electrode for electrochemical simultaneous detection of hydroquinone and catechol

Abstract

A versatile electrochemical sensor based on titanium carbide (Ti3C2) and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) nanocomposite was constructed to detection catechol (CT) and hydroquinone (HQ). To prepare this novel nanocomposite, a self-assembled process was conducted by blending two-dimensional (2D) hierarchical Ti3C2 and MWCNTs under ultrasonic-assisted. X-ray diffraction (XRD), High resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM) and Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) methods as well as electrochemical technique, such as Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), Cyclic voltammetry (CV) and Differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) were performed to characterize the Ti3C2-MWCNTs nanocomposite and illuminate the electrochemical oxidation process. Under the optimum conditions, wide linear range from 2 μM to 150 μM for both HQ and CT and low detection limit of 6.6 nM for HQ and 3.9 nM (S/N = 3) for CT have been achieved. Impressively, the sensor possesses superior selectivity, ultra-stability, and good repeatability, which was successfully applied for detecting CT and HQ in real industrial waste water sample with recovery of 96.9%-104.7% and 93.1%-109.9% for HQ and CT, respectively. Hence, Ti3C2 nanosheeets were proved to be a promising platform to construct electrochemical oxidation sensor in environmental analyses and phenolic isomers detection.