Room-Temperature Synthesized Iron/Cobalt Metal–Organic Framework Nanosheets with Highly Efficient Catalytic Activity toward Luminol Chemiluminescence Reaction

Two-dimensional (2D) iron/cobalt metal–organic framework nanosheets (Fe/Co-MOF NSs) were synthesized via the cooperative self-assembly reaction of Fe3+/Co2+ and terephthalic acid at room temperature. The as-prepared 2D Fe/Co-MOF NSs display superior performance in catalysis of the chemiluminescence (CL) reaction between luminol and H2O2. The CL spectrum, UV–vis absorption spectroscopy, radical scavenger experiments, and electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy are utilized to research the possible CL mechanism of the luminol-H2O2–Fe/Co-MOF NSs system. All results indicate that Fe/Co-MOF NSs present outstanding peroxidase-like activity and could catalyze H2O2 to produce 1O2, O2·–, and ·OH, which could react rapidly with the luminol anion radical and result in strong CL. With the highly efficient CL of the luminol-H2O2–Fe/Co-MOF NSs system, a sensitive sensor for the detection of dopamine (DA) is developed based on the inhibitory effect of DA on the CL intensity. Good linearity over the range of 50–800 nM is achieved with a limit of detection of 20.88 nM (S/N = 3). This research demonstrates that 2D Fe/Co-MOF NSs is a highly effective catalyst for luminol CL reaction and has great application potential in the CL field.