A novel electrochemical sensor based on DUT-67/ZnCo2O4-MWCNTs modified glassy carbon electrode for the simultaneous sensitive detection of dopamine and uric acid

Uric acid and dopamine are closely related to the health of the organism, so it is important to determine them simultaneously and efficiently. In this paper, the metal-organic framework DUT-67 was in situ grown on the surface of bimetallic oxide ZnCo2O4 nanoflowers, and then ultrasonically compounded with multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) to prepare DUT-67/ZnCo2O4-MWCNTs composite. The prepared composite was characterized by XRD, SEM, XPS, FTIR, BET and other techniques. Finally, an electrochemical sensor based on DUT-67/ZnCo2O4-MWCNTs composite modified glassy carbon electrode for simultaneous detection of dopamine (DA) and uric acid (UA) was fabricated. The introduction of ZnCo2O4 into the composite efficiently overcame the disadvantage of the easy aggregation of DUT-67 and produced a synergistic effect with MWCNTs. The electron transfer rate between the electrode and the electrolyte solution was accelerated, and the detection signals of the target molecules were amplified. After characterizing the electrochemical properties of the composite electrode, it was found that the constructed electrochemical sensor showed low detection limits for DA and UA, which were 12 nM and 8.7 nM, respectively, and the wide linear range of 1.0–180.0 μM. Besides, the sensor had excellent reproducibility, repeatability, anti-interference and stability. The proposed sensor was also successfully used to determine the contents of DA and UA in dopamine injection and urine samples with relatively satisfactory recovery rates. This work not only provides a new strategy for the preparation of MOF modified electrodes, but also has a potential application prospect in bioassays.