Simultaneous determination of endocrine disrupting compounds bisphenol F and bisphenol AF using carboxyl functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes modified electrode

•A electrochemical method was developed for simultaneous determination of BPF and BPAF.•The electrochemical sensor showed a good electrocatalytic activity to BPF and BPAF.•The peak current was remarkably enhanced by MWCNT-COOH modified GCE.•The sensor showed high sensitivity, well reproducibility and anti-jamming ability.•The method was satisfactorily employed to analyze BPF and BPAF in real samples.

A novel, simple and selective electrochemical method was developed for simultaneous determination of bisphenol F (BPF) and bisphenol AF (BPAF) in aqueous media (phosphate buffer solution, pH 6.0) on carboxyl functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes modified glassy carbon electrode (MWCNT-COOH/GCE) using differential pulse voltammetry (DPV). In DPV, MWCNT-COOH/GCE could separate the oxidation peak potentials of BPF and BPAF present in the same solution though, at the bare GCE, the peak potentials were indistinguishable. The results showed that the electrochemical sensor exhibited excellent electrocatalytic activity towards the oxidation of the two analytes. The peak current in DPV of BPF and BPAF increased linearly with their concentration in the ranges of 0.6–1.6 mmol/L BPF and 0.6–1.6 mmol/L BPAF. The detection limits were 0.1243 mmol/L and 0.1742 mmol/L (S/N=3) correspondingly. The modified electrode was successfully used to simultaneously determine BPF and BPAF in real samples.

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