Electrochemical detection of guaiacol in bamboo juice based on the enhancement effect of RGO nanosheets

Reduced graphene oxide (RGO) nanosheets with high quality were chemically synthesized by hydrothermal reduction of a well-dispersed graphene oxide (GO) suspension. The electrochemical behavior of guaiacol was studied on different carbon material surfaces. Compared with the bare glassy carbon, graphite, and GO, RGO nanosheets exhibited a strong enhancement effect and the electrochemical oxidation response of guaiacol was remarkably improved. The influences of the pH value, amount of RGO, scan rate and accumulation time on the oxidation signal of guaiacol were investigated. Based on the enhancement effect of RGO, a simple, fast and sensitive electrochemical method was developed for the detection of guaiacol. The linear range was from 0.5 μM to 500 μM with a correlation coefficient of 0.998, and the limit of detection was as low as 0.2 μM (S/N = 3). Finally, it was used to determine guaiacol in bamboo juice samples, and the recovery was over the range between 98.9% and 105.8%.