Electrochemical assays for the detection of TBBPA in plastic products based on rGO/AgNDs nanocomposites and molecularly imprinted polymers

Abstract In order to determine TBBPA in plastic products, a high-performance electrochemical sensor was prepared in this experiment. Reduced graphene oxide-silver nanodendrites (rGO/AgNDs) nanocomposites were modified on electrode using electrochemical method which enhanced the performance of the electrode. Molecularly imprinted polymers coated on the modified electrode via electro-polymerization significantly improved the selectivity of the prepared sensors. Comparing the sensors according to their order of modification, the study established that AgNDs as the first modified layer and RGO as the second modified layer effectively improves the performance of the electrode. The study also showed that the proportion of ACN to water as well as the type of eluent and elution technique used have a significant effect on the sensor. The concentration of TBBPA revealed two excellent linear relationships with peak currents between 0.05 nM and 20 nM with a LOD of 0.015 nM (S/N = 3). The TBBPA content in plastic water bottle (1.484 μg g−1) and phone case (56.00 μg g−1) were successfully detected using the prepared sensor and there was no significant deviation when compared to the results of LC-MS.