Boosting Photon Emission from the Chemiluminescence of Luminol Based on Host–Guest Recognition for the Determination of Dopamine

Modulating the photon emission of the luminophore for boosting chemiluminescence (CL) response is very crucial for the construction of highly sensitive sensors via the introduction of functionalized materials. Herein, the integration of the emitter and coreactant accelerator into one entity is realized by simply assembling cucurbit[7]uril (CB[7]) on the surface of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) through simple assembly via a Au–O bond. The loaded CB[7] on the AuNPs improves their catalytic capacity for the generation of hydroxyl radicals( • OH). Moreover, the host–guest recognition interaction between luminol and CB[7] enables the capture of luminol on AuNPs efficiently. Also, the intramolecular electron-transfer reaction between the luminol and • OH enables the CL response more effectively in the entity, which greatly boosts photon emission ca 100 folds compared with the individual luminol/H 2 O 2 . The host–guest recognition between luminol and CB[7] is revealed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, electrochemical, and thermogravimetric characterization. Moreover, the proposed CL system is successfully used for the sensitive and selective determination of dopamine (DA) based on a synergistic quenching mechanism including the competition quenching and radical-scavenging effect from DA. The present amplified strategy by integrating recognized and amplified elements within one entity simplifies the sensing process and holds great potential for sensitive analysis based on the self-enhanced strategies.