Ultrasound-assisted synthesis of barium tungstate encapsulated carbon nanofiber composite for real-time sensing of p-cresol in human urine samples

p-Cresol (PC) is an important volatile phenolic compound in human urine samples, with associated with chronic kidney disorder, liver damage, etc. Therefore, it is very important to detect the PC level in patients to monitor their body function. Compared to other analytical methods, electrochemical methods have their intrinsic advantages of high sensitivity and easy to handle. In this study, barium tungstate (BaWO₄)-functionalized carbon nanofiber (BW-fCNF) composite based electrochemical sensors were fabricated by ultrasonication for the detection of PC because barium tungstate has a good crystalline surface area to enhance the conductivity of electrodes and the fCNF is admirable electrode materials. As expected the sensors have excellent selectivity of PC among other forging substances. Under optimal conditions, this prepared BW-fCNF nanocomposites exhibited maximum performance towards PC determination with a very low detection limit of 0.006 µM and a wide linear range of 0.02–67.5 µM. Furthermore, the as prepared electrode was successfully applied for detecting PC level in the human urine samples.