Molybdenum oxide-based metal-organic framework/polypyrrole nanocomposites for enhancing electrochemical detection of dopamine

To overcome the poor conductivities and promote the application in the biosensors of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), a simple approach was employed to improve their overall conductivity by adjusting the metal centers of MOFs and coating conductive polypyrrole (PPy) in the work. An unprecedented molybdenum oxide-based three-dimensional MOFs with helical channels (CuTRZMoO4) was synthesized based on MoO4−, Cu2+ ions and 1,2,3-trz for the first time, then combined with PPy to fabricate hybrid composites (CuTRZMoO4@PPy-n) with both advantages. The CuTRZMoO4 modified glassy carbon electrode show high sensitivity for detecting the neurotransmitter dopamine (DA), and the CuTRZMoO4@PPy-2 modified glassy carbon electrode has the highest catalytical activity to DA with the linear detection range from 1 μM to 100 μM and the detection limit of 80 nM (S/N = 3) by differential pulse voltammetry (DPV). Moreover, the developed biosensor has good selectivity, reproducibility and stability. The concept behinds the new architecture to modify electrodes should promote the further development of MOF-based biosensors.