Nickel Tungstate Nanoparticle-Modified Screen-Printed Carbon Electrode: The Disposal Strip for the Electrochemical Detection of Tertiary Butylhydroquinone

The food industry routinely uses synthetic antioxidants, which have garnered a great deal of attention due to the toxicity of these substances. tert-Butylhydroquinone (THQ) is a phenolic derivative commonly found in foods, including milk, meat products, fried baked goods, and cooking oil. It is capable of causing nutritional issues and chronic diseases if ingested in excess. Food safety requires precise and fast THQ detection since excessive THQ in food harms human health. In this study, nickel tungstate nanoparticles (NiWO4) were synthesized hydrothermally and further utilized as an electrode material for electrochemical THQ detection. The prepared NiWO4 nanoparticle's physicochemical properties and surface morphologies were wisely analyzed using analytical methods. The Nyquist plot of NiWO4 exhibits a smaller Rct value of 132.15 Ω·cm2 with a higher electrochemical active surface area of 0.097 cm2 compared to a bare screen-printed carbon electrodes (SPCEs). Under ideal conditions, the NiWO4/SPCE exhibits reduction peak potential at Epc = −0.19 V with good linearity from 0.01–20.90 and 20.90–557.1 μM of THQ concentration and a limit of detection of 0.002 μM (S/N = 3) and anti-interfering capabilities. The practicality of NiWO4/SPCE for THQ measurement in food samples was successfully tested, and the recovery ranges (±96.8–99.8%) demonstrated NiWO4/SPCE as promising electrode materials for accurate sample analysis.