Ionic Liquid@rGO‐MgO Nanohybrid Modified Conducting Paper for Non‐Enzymatic Detection of Phenolic Compounds in Wastewater

ABSTRACT Phenolic pollutants (PhPs) are among the most toxic organic pollutants commonly present in industrial wastewater, posing severe risks to human health and aquatic ecosystems even at low concentrations. Their persistence, bioaccumulation, and carcinogenic nature necessitate the development of a rapid, cost‐effective, and sensitive detection platform for on‐site wastewater monitoring. In the present work, a conducting paper electrode (CPE) has been fabricated using ionic liquid (IL)‐modified reduced graphene oxide (rGO)‐magnesium oxide (MgO) nanohybrid (ILs@rGO‐MgO) for the electrochemical detection of phenolic compounds in wastewater. The morphology and structural composition of the ILs@rGO‐MgO nanohybrid have been investigated using XRD, Raman, FTIR, and SEM analysis, confirming the successful synthesis of the nanohybrid. The conductivity studies of the ILs@rGO‐MgO/CPE show that the nanohybrid exhibits higher conductivity when treated with methanol. The fabricated ILs@rGO‐MgO/CPE has been utilized for the non‐enzymatic determination of hydroquinone (HQ), revealing a low limit of detection (0.042 µM), a wide linear range (0.1–90 µM), and high sensitivity (0.0202 µA µM −1 cm −2 ). The selectivity study suggests that the ILs@rGO‐MgO/CPE can detect HQ in tap and river water, with an acceptable recovery rate.