Core–shell Cu@C@ZIF-8 composite: a high-performance electrode material for electrochemical sensing of nitrite with high selectivity and sensitivity

Abstract Herein, an efficient electrochemical sensing platform is proposed for selective and sensitive detection of nitrite on the basis of Cu@C@Zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (Cu@C@ZIF-8) heterostructure. core–shell Cu@C@ZIF-8 composite was synthesized by pyrolysis of Cu-metal-organic framework@ZIF-8 (Cu-MOF@ZIF-8) in Ar atmosphere on account of the difference of thermal stability between Cu-MOF and ZIF-8. For the sensing system of Cu@C@ZIF-8, ZIF-8 with proper pore size allows nitrite diffuse through the shell, while big molecules cannot, which ensures high selectivity of the sensor. On the other hand, Cu@C as electrocatalyst promotes the oxidation of nitrite, thereby resulting high sensitivity of the sensor. Accordingly, the Cu@C@ZIF-8 based sensor presents excellent performance for nitrite detection, which achieves a wide linear response range of 0.1–300.0 μ M, and a low limit of detection of 0.033 μ M. In addition, the Cu@C@ZIF-8 sensor possesses excellent stability and reproducibility, and was employed to quantify nitrite in sausage samples with recoveries of 95.45%–104.80%.