Highly selective and specific monitoring of pollutants using dual template imprinted MIP sensor

The development of synthetic receptor for dual analytes is generally complicated by cross-reactivity, matrix effects and other experimental limitations. Electrochemical MIP sensors are one of the preferred methodologies which yields clean, facile, simple sensors with aided advantage of high selectivity and sensitivity both. Here an electropolymerized molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) sensor for the simultaneous determination of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) and hydroquinone (HQ), the most common pollutants discharged into water bodies from industrial wastewater effluents with high specificity and selectivity is presented. Copolymer of 4-amino thiophenol and p-phenylenediamine were imprinted with these dual templates, i.e., HQ and 4-NP via electropolymerization on a glassy carbon electrode. This MIP sensor was applied for the analysis of HQ and 4-NP in 'real' water samples. The detection limits obtained for the individual determination of HQ and 4-NP were 0.14 mu M and 0.37 mu M respectively, while for the simultaneous determinations were found to be 0.9 mu M and 1.2 mu M for HQ and 4-NP respectively. This dual imprinted sensor showed good repeatability and reusability.

Automated summary

An electropolymerized MIP sensor was developed for the simultaneous determination of 4-nitrophenol and hydroquinone, common pollutants in industrial wastewater. The sensor demonstrated high specificity and selectivity, with detection limits of 0.14 mu M and 0.37 mu M for the individual determination of HQ and 4-NP, and 0.9 mu M and 1.2 mu M for the simultaneous determinations.