In situ preparation of NiCoFe-LDH nanoflowers on carbon cloth toward simultaneous detecting hydroquinone and catechol

Herein, for the first time, a self-supported electrode for simultaneous determination of hydroquinone (HQ) and catechol (CA) was synthesized by loading NiCoFe-layered double hydroxide nanoflowers on hydrophilic carbon cloth (NiCoFe-LDH NFs/CC) with a simple hydrothermal method. By combining the advantages of NiCoFe-LDH NFs with hydrophilic carbon cloth such as good conductivity, 3D porous network structure, high electrocatalytic activity, and fast electron transport, the proposed NiCoFe-LDH NFs/CC electrode dispalyed good electrochemical activity for detecting HQ and CA. The binder-free and free-standing electrode based on NiCoFe-LDH NFs/CC possessed good linear range (5-200 mu M), low determination limit (0.15 mu M and 0.11 mu M), and strong selectivity. Furthermore, it also showed good electrochemical stability without obvious change in ten days. More importantly, as-prepared electrode could be used as an efficient electrochemical sensor to determine HQ and CA content in actual samples with good recovery rate, revealing its feasibility in potential application.