Simple synthesis of a clew-like tungsten carbide nanocomposite decorated with gold nanoparticles for the ultrasensitive detection of tert-butylhydroquinone

A. T. Ezhil Vilian, Reddicherla Umapathi, Seung Kyu Hwang, Min Ji Lee, Yun Suk Huh, Young Kyu Han

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

22 Scopus citations

Abstract

The excessive use of food additives in manufactured food products negatively affects their quality and potentially impacts human health. In the present study, a composite consisting of gold nanoparticles decorated on tungsten carbide (AuNP-WC) was successfully fabricated using a facile and cost-effective ultrasonication technique. Compared to a bare glassy carbon electrode (GCE), AuNP-GCE, and WC-GCE, the AuNP-WC-GCE demonstrated excellent sensing performance for tert-butylhydroquinone (TBHQ) when used as an electrocatalyst in 0.05 M phosphate buffer solution (PBS), with a low working potential and a high peak current. In particular, the composite was able to detect the oxidation of TBHQ within a linear concentration range of 5 to 75 nM, with an extremely low detection limit of 0.20 nM. The practicability of the sensor was also assessed in the analysis of TBHQ in real samples of soybean oil, blended oil, and red wine, with satisfactory recovery rates obtained.

Original languageEnglish
Article number128936
JournalFood Chemistry
Volume348
DOIs
StatePublished - 30 Jun 2021

Keywords

  • Electrochemical detection
  • Gold nanoparticles
  • Square wave voltammetry
  • Tert-butylhydroquinone
  • Tungsten carbide

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