Simultaneous voltammetric determination of 2-nitrophenol and 4-nitrophenol based on an acetylene black paste electrode modified with a graphene-chitosan composite

We describe a simple and sensitive voltammetric method for the simultaneous determination of 2-nitrophenol and 4-nitrophenol. It is based on the use of an acetylene black paste electrode modified with a graphene-chitosan composite film (denoted as Gr-Chit/ABPE). The reduction peak currents of 2-nitrophenol (at -252 mV) and of 4-nitrophenol (at -340 mV) in pH 1.0 solution increase significantly at the Gr-Chit/ABPE in comparison to a bare ABPE. Factors affecting sensitivity were optimized and a linear relationship is found between peak current and the concentrations of 2-nitrophenol (in the 0.4 mu M to 80 mu M range) and for 4-nitrophenol (in the 0.1 mu M to 80 mu M range). The detection limits (at an SNR of 3 and after a 30-s accumulation time) are 200 nM for 2-nitrophenol and 80 nM for 4-nitrophenol, respectively. The modified electrode was successfully applied to the direct and parallel determination of 2-nitrophenol and 4-nitrophenol in spiked water samples.