Development of a MnO₂-Modified Screen-Printed Electrode for Phenol Monitoring

In this article, the electrochemical monitoring of phenol (Ph) in water by using a nanostructured MnO2-modified screen-printed carbon electrode (MnO2-SPCE) is reported. MnO2 nanoparticles were synthesized by the redox-precipitation method. Morphological, textural, and microstructural characteristics were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction, Raman, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area, and pore volume analyses. Electrochemical properties of the modified MnO2-SPCE electrode have been investigated by cyclic voltammetry and linear sweep voltammetry. The detection of Ph in water by the developed sensor was exploited using square wave voltammetry and chronoamperometry. The sensor showed good characteristics, such as simple fabrication, low cost, good sensitivity, stability, reproducibility, and selectivity, against inorganic analytes and other phenolic compounds. The reported results demonstrated the great potential of nanostructured MnO2 in developing high performances electrochemical sensors to be utilized in the field of environmental pollution monitoring.