Determination of hydroquinone in food and pharmaceutical samples using a voltammetric based sensor employing NiO nanoparticle and ionic liquids

A sensitive modified carbon paste electrode (MCPE) employing NiO nanoparticle (NiO/NPs) and 1-butyl-3- methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (BMITFB) ionic liquid was used for trace level analysis of hydroquinone (HQ) in aqueous solution. Compared to bare electrode, the electro-oxidation signal of HQ was greatly improved. The obtained result shows that, the electro-oxidation signal was increased to about 2.5 times at the surface of (NiO/NPs/BMITFB/MCPE) compared to CPE. The linear response range and detection limit were found to be 0.1–500 μM and 0.05 μM by square wave voltammetry (SWV), respectively. NiO/NPs/BMITFB/MCPE was effectively applied for the determination of HQ in real samples such as Liposomes carrier containing HQ and water sample