Bismuth tungstate nanocomposites for simultaneous detection of hydroquinone and resorcinol

Abstract

A simple wet-chemical co-precipitation method is presented to synthesize Bi2WO6 for the simultaneous detection of environmental pollutants hydroquinone (HQ) and resorcinol (RS) - a pioneering achievement in pollutant sensing. Leveraging its semiconducting nature and specific redox behavior, this composite serves as a smart platform for efficient pollutant detection. The synergistic effect of bismuth and tungstate led to a highly efficient interaction between modified electrode and analytes. The electronic interaction greatly influences the redox process as a result of Bi and WO binding affinity with the two pollutants. Hence, the Bi2WO6 composite exhibited linear ranges of 200 μM-5 μM for HQ and 20 μM-5 μM for RS in simultaneous detection with low limits of detection of 57 μM and 4.3 μM. Further, it showed stability up to 77% and 75% (HQ and RS) for 150 cycles and reproducibility (RSD 2.9% for HQ and 3.1% for RS) and, finally, for real sample analysis showed good recovery percentages of 53-58% for HQ and 79-81% for RS in tap water and 94-101% for HQ in an ointment sample. These findings highlight the great potential of Bi2WO6 as a versatile and effective tool for environmental pollutant sensing and monitoring.