Flowerlike Co-MOFs catalyzed chemiluminescence for sensitive detection of tetrachlorophenquinone in environmental waters

Tetrachlorobenzoquinone (TCBQ) as one of the most toxic quinones has potential risk of causing canceration, and the monitoring of TCBQ in the environment is of significant importance. In this study, a flowerlike Co-PTA-400(Ar) metal organic frameworks (MOF) catalyzed TCBQ-H 2 O 2 chemiluminescence (CL) system was established for sensitive determination of trace TCBQ in environmental waters. The reaction between TCBQ and H 2 O 2 can result in weak CL emission, and the CL signal was enhanced about 10-fold using flowerlike Co-PTA-400(Ar) as catalyst. The luminescence mechanism was investigated through kinetic studies and free radical scavenging experiments. The strong CL emission of TCBQ mainly relied on the generation of abundant •OH by the catalysis of Co-PTA-400(Ar). This strategy allows to develop a highly sensitive method for the determination of TCBQ in the linear range of 1 ∼ 50 μM, with a detection limit of 0.56 μM (3 σ ). The proposed method was applied for analysis of three spiked water samples with recoveries ranging from 95.7% to 100.5%. This method offering the advantages of rapid analysis, low costs, and high sensitivity, is appealing for detection of TCBQ in environmental waters.