A facile electrochemical sensor for nonylphenol determination based on the enhancement effect of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide

Abstract

A facile electrochemical sensor for the determination of nonylphenol (NP) was fabricated in this work. Cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), which formed a bilayer on the surface of the carbon paste (CP) electrode, displayed a remarkable enhancement effect for the electrochemical oxidation of NP. Moreover, the oxidation peak current of NP at the CTAB/CP electrode demonstrated a linear relationship with NP concentration, which could be applied in the direct determination of NP. Some experimental parameters were investigated, such as external solution pH, mode and time of accumulation, concentration and modification time of CTAB and so on. Under optimized conditions, a wide linear range from 1.0 × 10-7mol•L-1to 2.5 × 10-5mol•L-1was obtained for the sensor, with a low limit of detection at 1.0 × 10-8mol•L-1. Several distinguishing advantages of the as-prepared sensor, including facile fabrication, easy operation, low cost and so on, suggest a great potential for its practical applications. © 2013 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.