Herein, ZnO nanorods with an average diameter of 50 nm were uniformly anchored on the surface of carbon cloth directly by a simple hydrothermal method. The nanorods growing in situ along the specific direction of (002) have single-crystalline features and a columnar structure. On the basis of the ZnO nanorod/carbon cloth composite, free-standing electrodes were fabricated for the simultaneous determination of dihydroxybenzene isomers. The ZnO nanorod/carbon cloth electrodes exhibited excellent electrochemical stability, high sensitivity, and high selectivity. The linear ranges of concentration for hydroquinone, catechol, and resorcinol were 2-30, 2-45, and 2-385 μM, respectively, and the corresponding limits of detection (S/N = 3) were 0.57, 0.81, and 7.2 μM. The outstanding sensing properties of ZnO/carbon cloth electrodes have a great promise for the development of free-standing biosensors and other electrochemical devices.
Keywords: ZnO nanorod; carbon cloth; dihydroxybenzene isomers; electrochemical sensor; simultaneous detection.