Simultaneous electrochemical detection of dimethyl bisphenol A and bisphenol A using a novel Pt@SWCNTs-MXene-rGO modified screen-printed sensor

Abstract

Since bisphenol A (BPA) and dimethyl bisphenol A (DM-BPA) are human endocrine disruptors (EDCs) with tiny potential differences (44 mV) and widespread applications, there is a lack of published reports on their simultaneous detection. Therefore, this study reports a novel electrochemical detection system capable of simultaneous direct detection of BPA and DM-BPA using screen-printed carbon electrodes (SPCE) as a sensing platform. To improve the electrochemical performance of the SPCE, the SPCE was modified by using a combination of Pt nanoparticles modified with single-walled carbon nanotubes (Pt@SWCNTs), MXene (Ti3C2), and graphene oxide (GO). In addition, the GO in Pt@SWCNTs-MXene-GO was reduced to reduced graphene oxide (rGO) by the action of electric field (−1.2 V), which significantly improved the electrochemical properties of the composites and effectively solved the problem of dispersion of the modified materials on the electrode surface. Under optimal experimental conditions, Pt@SWCNTs-Ti3C2-rGO/SPCE exhibited a suitable detection range (0.006–7.4 μmol L−1) and low detection limits (2.8 and 3 nmol L−1, S/N = 3) for the simultaneous detection of BPA (0.392 V vs. Ag/AgCl) and DM-BPA (0.436 V vs. Ag/AgCl)). Thus, this study provides new insights into detecting compounds with similar structures and slight potential differences. Finally, the developed sensor's reproducibility, stability, interference resistance and accuracy were demonstrated with satisfactory results.