Highly sensitive electrochemical assay for Bisphenol A detection based on poly (CTAB)/MWCNTs modified pencil graphite electrodes

•Poly (CTAB)/MWCNTs composite was successfully synthesized on PGE by electrochemical copolymerization technique.•Analytical application of Poly (CTAB)/MWCNTs/PGE for electrochemical BPA detection has first been reported.•The proposed method was satisfactorily employed to analyze BPA content in real samples.

In this work, we offered a cheap, effective and a rapid electrochemical detection of Bisphenol A (BPA) in a simple methodology. Cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) and multi- walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were combined through electropolymerization onto pencil graphite electrode (PGE) surface by cyclic voltammetry to produce poly (CTAB)-MWCNTs composite. Electrochemical signal of BPA at poly (CTAB)-MWCNTs modified PGE was significantly enhanced. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and electrochemical methods were utilized to clarify the surface characterization. The limit of detection was calculated as 134 pM with a good regression between the concentration and peak current of BPA (R2 = 0.993) by using square wave voltammetry within the range of 2-808 nM. A teether, bottle water and a baby's bottle, which were purchased from local markets, were used as real matrixes and this method was used efficiently for the detection of BPA with a maximal recovery. Poly (CTAB)-MWCNTs based sensor demonstrated perfect electrochemical performance for the detection of BPA and this platform can be used for the determination of various analytes.

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