Simultaneous determination of hydroquinone and catechol based on three-dimensionally ordered macroporous polycysteine film modified electrode

A three-dimensionally ordered macroporous (3DOM) polycysteine (PCE) film was electropolymerized on the glassy carbon electrode (GCE) using polystyrene spheres as template. The electrochemical behaviors of hydroquinone (HQ) and catechol (CC) were studied, and two independent oxidation peaks were observed. Compared with the bare GCE and GCE modified with PCE without using template, this electrode displays larger peak currents which may be attributed to the structure of PCE and the large surface area of the nanopore array structure. As a result, a novel electrochemical method was developed for the simultaneous determination of HQ and CC. Under the optimized conditions, the peak currents were linear to concentrations in the wider ranges of 9 to 700 μM for HQ and from 3 to 700 μM for CC. The method was successfully applied to the simultaneous determination of HQ and CC in spiked water samples, and the results are satisfactory.