Copper-based metal–organic xerogels on paper for chemiluminescence detection of dopamine

In this work, copper(II)-containing metal–organic xerogels (Cu-MOXs), which were composed of copper as the central ion and 2,2′-bipyridine-6,6′-dicarboxylic acid as the ligand, were quickly synthesized by a mild facile strategy. The Cu-MOXs exhibited superior catalytic performance for the luminol–H2O2 chemiluminescence (CL) system. The possible mechanism was studied via CL spectra, UV-Vis absorption and electron paramagnetic resonance (ESR). Since dopamine (DA) can inhibit the reaction of this system, a sensitive paper-based CL device for the detection of DA was established. Under the optimal experimental conditions, the linear range of this method was 40–200 nM with a detection limit of 10 nM. The proposed method was used for the determination of DA in urine samples.