A low temperature synthesis of activated carbon from the bio waste for simultaneous electrochemical determination of hydroquinone and catechol

• Activated carbons (ACs) from biowaste.
• Nanomolar electrochemical detection of hydroquinone and catechol.
• The AC modified electrode exhibited lower limit of detection toward HQ and CC.
• The modified electrode displayed an ultrahigh sensitivity for HQ and CC.

In the present study, the simultaneous determination of hydroquinone (HQ) and catechol (CC) was investigated by using the activated carbon (AC) from dead mango leaves at a low temperature (600 °C). The synthesized AC exhibited a high surface-area of ∼782 m2 g−1. The AC modified electrode exhibited a sensitive and selective detection of HQ and CC than that of other AC modified electrodes which prepared at quite higher temperatures (700 °C, 800 °C, 900 °C). The AC600 holds its high selectivity towards the potentially interfering species compared with other AC modified electrodes. The fabricated AC modified electrode showed a well defined redox peak for HQ and CC with a better peak separation compared with unmodified electrode. The AC modified electrode showed enhanced peak current response with a lower potential of HQ (0.11 V) and CC (0.22 V) compared with bare electrode. The linear response range of HQ and CC was found from 10 to 100 and 5 to 100 nM with the sensitivity of 5.19 and 6.59 μA μM−1 cm−2, respectively. The limit of detection (LOD) was found as 3 nM for HQ and 2 nM for CC at the AC modified electrode, which is the lowest LOD for HQ and CC that ever been reported using carbon nanomaterials modified electrodes.

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