Determination of 4-aminophenol using the quartz crystal microbalance sensor

Abstract

In this paper we report a method for the determination of 4-aminophenol (4-AP) in solution using a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) sensor. 4-AP reacts with (para-unsubstituted) phenols to form hydrophobic indophenol dye species that precipitate out and adsorb to the surface of the crystal to produce a shift in the crystal resonant frequency. This frequency change, due to in-situ indophenol mass adsorption, can be related to the initial 4-AP concentration. A range of phenols (namely o-cresol, 1-naphthol, resorcinol, catechol and 8-hydroxyquinoline) and their reaction with 4-AP were tested. Ammonium persulfate (APS) and potassium periodate were used as initiators to improve the speed of the reaction and the rate of formation of the precipitate. APS elicited improved signal in terms of response times and frequency shifts compared with KIO₄. Of the phenols studied, resorcinol gave the best response time of 6 min for 4-AP determination. The reaction of resorcinol with 4-AP gave extended response times and signal size with decreasing concentration of 4-AP (in the range 2–5 mM).