Facilely prepared Co-based MOF functionalized N, S-doped reduced graphene oxide for electrochemical non-enzymatic glucose sensing

Rational design of modified electrode materials is critical for electrochemical sensors. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), a novel sort of substance with porosity, has received widespread attention owing to various superior characteristics such as adjustable pore sizes, great surface area and controllable structures. Nevertheless, the poor charge transfer capability of MOFs leads to a general suppression of their electrochemical sensing performance. To solve this issue, compositing conductive substance with MOFs have been demonstrated to be an effective strategy. Herein, Co-based MOF (ZIF-67) functionalized N, S-doped reduced graphene oxide (N, S-RGO) heterostructure (ZIF-67/N, S-RGO) was fabricated through an in-situ synthesis method. The composite material was used in the modification of an electrode to construct a sensing platform for non-enzymatic glucose testing. The synergistic interaction of ZIF-67 and N, S-RGO not only provided more efficient active sites and larger surface areas, but also improved the electron transport efficiency and electrocatalytic performance. Under optimized conditions, the ZIF-67/N, S-RGO/GCE had a dynamic linear range of 1–3200 μM, with a detection limit of 0.33 μM (S/N = 3) for glucose detection. The sensing platform also provided excellent reproducibility, selectivity, and stability (70 % activity retained after 12 days). Furthermore, the sensor had the potential to apply for glucose determination in human serum. This work presented a novel strategy to the field of non-enzymatic glucose sensing and may provide effective coaching for optimizing the electrochemical sensing performance of other series of MOFs.