An over-oxidized poly(Rutin) modified electrode for selective and sensitive determination of catechol and hydroquinone

Herein, a new facile and sensitive method was developed that enables the individual and simultaneous determination of catechol (CC) and hydroquinone (HQ) using an over-oxidized and electrochemically polymerised rutin film glassy carbon electrode. The proposed electrode exhibits a large peak potential difference between CC and HQ, resulting in well-separated peaks—an important factor for selective determination. CC and HQ were individually and simultaneously determined via differential pulse voltammetry in a pH -7.2 phosphate buffer solution. The individually calculated detection limits for CC and HQ were 8.8 and 5.2 nM, respectively. In simultaneous determination, the limits of detection were calculated to be 31 and 53 nM for CC and HQ, respectively. Moreover, real sample analyses were successfully conducted using tap and waste water. •An over-oxidized polymer film electrode was electrochemically fabricated.•Polymerised rutin was over-oxidized at alkaline media.•Developed surface was used for the simultaneous determination of catachol and hydroquinone.•The new electrode was characterized by SEM, XPS, XRD and EIS techniques.•The electrode exhibited high sensitivity, selectivity and good stability towards catechol and hydroquinone.