Incorporated ferrocene-derivatives endow Ni-based MOF with high-performance for electrochemical detection

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) exhibit structural diversity and functional tunability, rendering them a versatile platform for a wide range of applications. Specifically, defects or function groups induced by exotic ligands is an efficient strategy to adjust the catalytic performance. In this study, we explore the impact of incorporating ferrocene derivatives into two Ni-based MOFs and examine their suitability as potential glucose sensors. One strategy involves introducing bidentate 1,1′-ferrocenedicarboxylic acid (1,1′-Fc) into the 3D Ni-1,4-benzenedicarboxylic acid MOF (Fc-Ni-BDC) using a simple single-step hydrothermal method. Another approach involves encapsulating ferrocenemethylamine (Fc-NH2) inside the cavity of 2D conductive Ni-HHTP MOF (HHTP=2,3,6,7,10,11-hexahydroxytriphenylene) driven by electrostatic attraction to form Fc-Ni-HHTP. On account of the synergy between ferrocene derivatives and MOFs, the hybrid MOFs demonstrated remarkable electrochemical performance, characterized by pronounced electrocatalytic reactivity towards glucose oxidation. It is showed that the doped ferrocene derivatives act as electron donors to the MOF active sites, modifying the electronic structure and facilitating the kinetics of the reactions, then an augmentation in the catalytic efficiency has been achieved. This work demonstrates a simple strategy to improve MOF-based electrochemical sensors by incorporating metallocene ligands.