In this proof-of-concept study, sol–gel was functionalized with Ruthenium Red (RR) using 3-glycidoxypropyl trimethoxysilane as the coupling agent and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and characterized with FT-IR, SEM and TEM as well as electrochemical techniques. The functionalized sol–gel (fSG) nanocomposite was used for the modification of a graphite paste electrode (GPE/fSGRR-MWCNTs) for the speciation of dihydroxybenzene compounds, hydroquinone (HQ), catechol (CC), and resorcinol (RS) which are known as hazardous water pollutants. The DPV measurements were performed in phosphate buffer solution at pH 5.0 from −0.2 to 1.0 V vs. Ag/AgCl. The nanocomposite-modified electrode displayed stable and continuous three well-separated oxidation peaks at 0.20, 0.30 and 0.72 V for HQ, CC, and RS, respectively. The limit-of-detection (LOD) was determined to be 0.049, 0.008 and 0.015 μM for HQ, CC, and RS, respectively. The modified GPE/fSGRR-MWCNTs showed good stability, reproducibility, sensitivity, and selectivity properties to determine all three compounds. The electrochemical performance of the GPE/fSGRR-MWCNT has been evaluated for simultaneous determination of dihydroxybenzene isomers in creek water, residential wastewater, and commercial hair dye, with satisfactory recoveries between 95 and 104%. This modified GPE/fSGRR-MWCNTs showed better stability, reproducibility, sensitivity, and selectivity properties to determine all three compounds when compared with the similar modified electrodes recently reported in the literature. Therefore, this novel RR-containing nanocomposite-modified sensor can be a promising pre-screening tool for the inexpensive and rapid detection of HQ, CC, and RS in on-field environmental studies.

在这项概念验证研究中，使用 3-环氧丙氧基丙基三甲氧基硅烷作为偶联剂和多壁碳纳米管 (MWCNT) 用钌红 (RR) 对溶胶-凝胶进行了功能化，并用 FT-IR、SEM 和 TEM 进行了表征作为电化学技术。功能化的溶胶-凝胶 (fSG) 纳米复合材料用于修饰石墨糊电极 (GPE/fSGRR-MWCNTs) 以形成二羟基苯化合物、氢醌 (HQ)、儿茶酚 (CC) 和间苯二酚 (RS)，它们是被称为危险水污染物。DPV 测量是在 pH 5.0 的磷酸盐缓冲溶液中进行的，电压范围为-0.2 至 1.0 V。银/氯化银。纳米复合材料修饰的电极在 HQ、CC 和 RS 分别在 0.20、0.30 和 0.72 V 处显示出稳定且连续的三个分离良好的氧化峰。HQ、CC 和 RS 的检测限 (LOD) 分别确定为 0.049、0.008 和 0.015 μM。修饰的 GPE/fSGRR-MWCNT 显示出良好的稳定性、重现性、灵敏度和选择性，可用于测定所有三种化合物。GPE/fSGRR-MWCNT 的电化学性能已被评估用于同时测定溪水、住宅废水和商业染发剂中的二羟基苯异构体，回收率在 95% 到 104% 之间。这种改良的 GPE/fSGRR-MWCNTs 表现出更好的稳定性、重现性、灵敏度、与最近在文献中报道的类似修饰电极相比，确定所有三种化合物的选择性和选择性。因此，这种新型含有 RR 的纳米复合改性传感器可以成为一种有前景的预筛选工具，用于在现场环境研究中廉价且快速地检测 HQ、CC 和 RS。