In situ fast self-assembled preparation of dandelion-like Cu(OH)2@Cu3(HHTP)2 with core–shell heterostructure arrays for electrochemical sensing of formaldehyde in food samples

Formaldehyde is known to harm the respiratory, nervous, and digestive systems of people. In this paper, a novel dandelion-like electrocatalyst with core–shell heterostructure arrays were fast self-assembled prepared in situ using copper foam (CF) as support substrate and 2,3,6,7,10,11 hexahydroxy-triphenyl (HHTP) as ligand (Cu(OH)2@Cu3(HHTP)2/CF) by a simple two-step hydrothermal reaction. The 1D Cu(OH)2 nanorods "core" and the 2D π-conjugated conducting metal–organic frameworks (Cu3(HHTP)2 cMOF) "shell" with remote delocalized electrons give the dandelion-like heterogeneous catalysts excellent electrochemical activity such as a large specific surface area, high conductivity and a fast electron transfer rate. The Cu(OH)2@Cu3(HHTP)2/CF exhibited excellent electrocatalytic performance for formaldehyde under alkaline conditions with a linear range of 0.2 μmol/L ––125 μmol/L and 125 μmol/L ––8 mmol/L, a detection limit as low as 15.9 nmol/L (S/N = 3), as well as good accuracy, consistency, and durability, and it effectively identified FA in food.