Ag nanoparticle-functionalized carbon nitride nanosheets as a novel co-reaction accelerator for the specific electrochemiluminescence detection of tartrazine

A molecularly imprinted electrochemiluminescence (ECL) sensor was developed for ultrasensitive tartrazine (TZ) detection. The system employed Ru(bpy) 3 2+ encapsulated in UiO-66 as the luminophore, with tri-n-propylamine (TPrA) as co-reactant. Carbon nitride nanosheets (CNNS) functionalized with Ag nanoparticles (Ag NPs) enhanced the ECL signal through resonance energy transfer, while the UiO-66@Ru(bpy) 3 2+ /CNNS@Ag NPs/TPrA combination provided synergistic signal amplification. Selective recognition was achieved through a molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) layer fabricated by electropolymerizing pyrrole with TZ as template. Target binding induced ECL quenching via electron transfer inhibition, enabling quantification. The sensor showed excellent performance with a wide linear range (1.0 × 10 −12 -1.0 × 10 −6  mol L −1 ) and low detection limit (3.3 × 10 −13  mol L −1 , S/N = 3). Practical utility was demonstrated through successful TZ determination in food samples, highlighting its potential for synthetic dye monitoring in complex matrices. The integration of advanced nanomaterials with MIP technology resulted in a sensitive, selective, and practical sensing platform.