Bismuth tungstate nanocomposites for simultaneous detection of hydroquinone and resorcinol

Abstract

A simple wet-chemical co-precipitation method is presented to synthesize Bi₂WO₆ for the simultaneous detection of environmental pollutants hydroquinone (HQ) and resorcinol (RS) – a pioneering achievement in pollutant sensing. Leveraging its semiconducting nature and specific redox behavior, this composite serves as a smart platform for efficient pollutant detection. The synergistic effect of bismuth and tungstate led to a highly efficient interaction between modified electrode and analytes. The electronic interaction greatly influences the redox process as a result of Bi and WO binding affinity with the two pollutants. Hence, the Bi₂WO₆ composite exhibited linear ranges of 200 μM–5 mM for HQ and 20 μM–5 mM for RS in simultaneous detection with low limits of detection of 57 μM and 4.3 μM. Further, it showed stability up to 77% and 75% (HQ and RS) for 150 cycles and reproducibility (RSD 2.9% for HQ and 3.1% for RS) and, finally, for real sample analysis showed good recovery percentages of 53–58% for HQ and 79–81% for RS in tap water and 94–101% for HQ in an ointment sample. These findings highlight the great potential of Bi₂WO₆ as a versatile and effective tool for environmental pollutant sensing and monitoring.