Polyaniline/polysulfone composite film electrode for simultaneous determination of hydroquinone and catechol

Polyaniline (PAN)/polysulfone (PSF) composite film electrodes were successfully prepared by electropolymerization using cyclic votammetry technique. The composite film electrodes show a great enhancement in electron transfer kinetics, and the separation between oxidation and reduction peaks (ΔEp) decreases from 200 to 35 mV for hydroquinone (H2Q) and from 275 to 42 mV for catechol (CC) at bare Pt and composite film electrodes respectively. In their mixed systems, the redox peak of H2Q and two pairs of redox peaks of CC on this composite film electrode could be obviously distinguished which indicates the composite film electrodes have excellent electrocatalytic activity and reversibility towards the oxidation of two diphenols (hydroquinone and catechol). The linear relationships between the peak current and concentration are observed for single solute and mixed systems within the certain concentration range, implying that the composite film electrodes have potential application in the qualitative or quantitative analysis of diphenol.

► We prepared a composite film which has bi-layers with asymmetric microstructure and relatively rich porosity which provides larger surface area for electrochemical reaction.
► The outer polysulfone layer is propitious for the organic molecules to enrich on the composite film, which brings great enhancement in electron transfer kinetics.
► The composite film electrode can be used to detect qualitatively or quantitatively hydroquinone and catechol in the single solute or mixed systems.