Boron Nitride Quantum Dots as Efficient Coreactant for Enhanced Electrochemiluminescence of Ruthenium(II) Tris(2,2′-bipyridyl)

In the present work, an enhanced and stable anodic electrochemiluminescence (ECL) was observed from a suspension of boron nitride quantum dots (BNQDs) and Ru(bpy)₃²⁺, which had a 400-fold enhancement compared with individual Ru(bpy)₃²⁺. Interestingly, different from the previous research on BNQDs as a type of optical probe, BNQDs were demonstrated as an efficient coreactant of Ru(bpy)₃²⁺-based ECL for the first time and confirmed by collecting the ECL spectra. The amino-bearing groups and the electrocatalytic effect of the BNQDs endowed them as potential coreactants for ECL of Ru(bpy)₃²⁺, and the possible mechanism of the electrode surface reaction was discussed. Several factors including electrode material, the pH of the buffer solution, and the amount of BNQDs were investigated and also further confirmed the role of the BNQDs in the proposed Ru(bpy)₃²⁺/BNQDs system. On the basis of the quenching effect between the excited state of Ru(bpy)₃²⁺ and the oxidation form of DA in the ECL system of Ru(bpy)₃²⁺/BNQDs, the ECL sensing platform for DA was successfully established. The proposed ECL system with the outstanding ECL efficiency may hold great potential in the bioanlysis because of the biocompatibility and good stability of BNQDs.