An electrochemical sensor based on molecularly imprinted polypyrrole/graphene quantum dots composite for detection of bisphenol A in water samples

Bisphenol A (BPA) is an important endocrine disrupter in environments, for which sensitive and selective detection methods are highly necessary to carry out its recognition and quantification. Here a novel electrochemical sensor was developed based on molecularly imprinted polypyrrole/graphene quantum dots (MIPPy/GQDs) composite for the detection of bisphenol A (BPA) in water samples. A MIPPy/GQDs composite layer was prepared by the electropolymerization of pyrrole on a glassy carbon electrode with BPA as a template. The MIPPy/GQDs composite could specifically recognize BPA in aqueous solutions, which resulted in the decrease of peak currents of K-3 [Fe(CN)(6)] at the MIPPy/GQDs) modified electrode in cyclic voltammetry (CV) and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV). There was a linear relationship between BPA concentrations ranging from 0.1 mu M to 50 mu M and the response value (Delta I-DPV) in DPV, with a limit of detection of 0.04 mu M (S/N = 3). The sensor was applied for the detection of BPA in tap and sea water samples, with recoveries of 94.5% and 93.7%, respectively. The proposed method provides a powerful tool for rapid and sensitive detection of BPA in environmental samples. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.