An ultrasensitive 4-aminophenol electrochemical sensors based on zinc and nitrogen-doped γ-cyclodextrin composites

4-Aminophenol (4-AP) is an environmental pollutant that is harmful to aquatic organisms and can cause long-term adverse effects in the aquatic environment. Herein, a Zn,N-γ-CD/GCE sensing platform was constructed by utilizing the complexation of Zn ions with γ-cyclodextrin (γ-CD), along with the composite of N-doped γ-cyclodextrin (N-γ-CD) and ZnCl2, for the detection of 4-AP. The presence of pore structures and hydrogen bonding groups in N-γ-CD enables effective capture of the target analyte through host–guest interactions, thereby enhancing the detection efficiency. The doping of Zn metal significantly improves the sensitivity of the sensing platform. After optimization, the detection limit of the Zn,N-γ-CD/GCE sensor was as low as 29.1 nM. Moreover, the sensor exhibits reliable repeatability, reproducibility, and stability. The practical feasibility of detecting 4-AP in real samples using this sensor demonstrated a recovery rate of 94.3 %–105.5 %, providing a new method for the accurate detection of 4-AP.