p-Nitrophenol (p-Np) is a chemical compound that causes various problems in the environment. The main aspects of the environmental problem are : Toxicity to humans, animals and aquatic organisms and persistence in the environment. p-Np is a relatively stable compound and therefore degrades slowly in the environment (up to years in anaerobic environments). Through industrial effluents and pesticide applications (e.g. degradation products of parathion) it can accumulate in ecosystems and become a long-term problem. Due to its solubility in water, p-Np can easily penetrate groundwater and endanger drinking water supplies. Modern waste water treatment with appropriate measures is therefore necessary. Purification methods such as adsorption, photocatalysis and electrochemical oxidation are used to eliminate p-Np in wastewater . Their monitoring helps to identify the sources of pollution, to safeguard water quality and thus to protect the health of ecosystems and people in the long term. In particular, electrochemical and spectroscopic methods have been developed for the detection and quantification of p-Np . This article presents two analytical methods for the identification of p-Np: UV-VIS and Raman spectroscopy. The combination with electrochemical methods such as linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) allows the spectroscopic monitoring of the redox reactions of p-Np.

Reduction of p-Nitrophenol, UV-VIS spectroscopy, SERS-Raman spectroscopy