Boron-doped graphene as high-performance electrocatalyst for the simultaneously electrochemical determination of hydroquinone and catechol

• Boron-doped graphene as high-performance electrocatalyst for electroanalysis is synthesized.
• Boron-doped graphene shows high electrocatalytic activity towards the redox reaction of hydroquinone and catechol.
• The proposed electrocatalyst is promising in the detection of other molecules.

Boron-doped graphene (BG) was prepared as a high-performance electrocatalyst for constructing an electrochemical sensing platform. Various characterizations revealed that the boron atoms had been successfully doped into graphene structures with the atomic percentage of 1.4%. The fabricated platform was applied for the simultaneous determination of hydroquinone (HQ) and catechol (CC). Because of its particular structure and unique electronic properties, originating from boron doping, BG showed more excellent electrocatalytic activity than that of pristine graphene (PG) toward the redox reaction of HQ and CC, respectively. Under the optimized condition, calibration curves for HQ and CC were obtained in the range of 5 to 100 μM, 1 to 75 μM, with detection limits (S/N = 3) of 0.3 μM and 0.2 μM, respectively. Due to its high sensitivity and selectivity, BG is expected to act as a promising candidate of advanced electrode material for detecting trace HQ and CC in wastewater.