It is quite important to develop sensitive, simple, and convenient methods for the simultaneous determination of Hydroquinone (HQ) and Catechol (CC) due to their wide existence, the difficulty of degradation, and the high toxicity. Herein, Cu-TCPP nanosheets were prepared in N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) through the solvent exfoliation method. The morphology and electrochemical performance of Cu-TCPP were characterized, revealing its stacked sheet structure with abundant pores, a fast electron transfer ability, and a large electrode active area. Using Cu-TCPP nanosheets as the sensitive material to modify the glassy carbon electrodes (Cu-TCPP/GCEs), it was found that they had an obvious enhancement effect on the electrochemical oxidation currents of HQ and CC. The signal enhancement mechanism was explored. The Cu-TCPP nanosheets not only enhanced the accumulation abilities of HQ and CC, but also improved their apparent catalytic rate, displaying high sensitivity for HQ and CC. The values of the detection limit were calculated to be 3.4 and 2.3 nM for HQ and CC. A satisfactory recovery was obtained when this method was used in measuring HQ and CC in the water samples.
Keywords: 2D MOFs; Cu-TCPP; catechol; electrochemical sensor; hydroquinone.