Mesoporous silica-based electrochemical sensor for sensitive determination of environmental hormone bisphenol A

Bisphenol A (BPA) is an emerging contaminant with severe toxic effects such as disrupting endocrine system or causing cancer, therefore, developing sensitive and selective sensor for BPA is very important and interesting. Herein, MCM-41, a kind of mesoporous silica, was synthesized and then used to prepare an electrochemical sensor for BPA. For better comparison, carbon nanotubes, activated carbon, silica gel and graphite were also employed to prepare electrochemical sensor for BPA. The electrochemical behaviors of BPA at different electrochemical sensors were investigated. Compared with other sensors, the MCM-41 sensor greatly enhances the response signal of BPA due to the large active surface area and high accumulation efficiency. The effects of pH value, accumulation time and sensor composition were examined. The linear range is from 2.2 × 10−7 to 8.8 × 10−6 mol L−1, and the limit of detection is evaluated to be 3.8 × 10−8 mol L−1. Finally, the MCM-41 sensor was successfully employed to determine BPA in water samples.