Ethylene glycol-assisted synthesis of reduced graphene oxide-supported bimetallic Pt-Co nanoparticles for the ultra-sensitive detection of tert-butyl hydroquinone

Abstract

In this study, we developed reduced graphene oxide-supported Pt-Co nanoparticles (Pt-Co/RGO) utilizing a straightforward one-step hydrothermal method and ethylene glycol as a shape-directing agent. We systematically examined how various experimental settings affected the morphology and structure of the Pt-Co/RGO nanohybrid material. Compared to Pt/RGO as prepared, Pt-Co/RGO has better catalytic activity. The electrochemical performance of the screen-printed electrodes (SPE) was evaluated through cyclic voltammetry (CV) and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) measurements. The results show that, under ideal circumstances, the developed sensor can readily employ CV and DPV to detect tert-butyl hydroquinone (TBHQ). The designed sensor has a linear response from 5 nM to 100 nM with a detection limit (LOD) and quantification limit (LOQ) of 0.09 nM and 0.27 nM, respectively. The proposed sensor demonstrated its potential analytical performance by measuring TBHQ in samples spiked with soybean, sunflower, and corn oils, yielding good recoveries without sample pre-treatment. © 2023 Elsevier B.V.