A simple UiO-66-NH2@MWCNTs-COOH based electrochemical sensor for the sensitive detection of tert-butylhydroquinone in edible oils

The precise identification of tert-butylhydroquinone, a dangerous food preservative is critical for ensuring food quality and safety. In this study, a solvothermal method is used to combine carboxylated multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNTs-COOH) with UiO-66-NH2 to generate UiO-66-NH2@MWCNTs-COOH and its presence was confirmed using various characterization techniques such as UV–Vis, fluorescence spectra, FT-IR, SEM-EDX, XRD and XPS. Due to UiO-66-NH2@MWCNTs-COOH nanocomposite's excellent electrocatalytic properties, it was chosen as the sensor material and integrated onto the bare glassy carbon electrode's surface. Under optimal conditions, the manufactured electrochemical sensor demonstrated remarkable levels of repeatability, stability, selectivity, and reproducibility to detect throughout a wide range, ranging from 0.02 μM to 0.4 μM and 400 μM, while maintaining a 4 nM limit of detection In addition, the sensor's usability was evaluated on samples of edible oil, resulting in an excellent recovery of tert-butylhydroquinone in the range of 98.45 % to −102.8 %. This work provides a simple, a faster, and an important methodology for utilizing UiO-66-NH2 in the electrochemical sensor area.