Topological structure of Au nanoparticles@salix leaf-like metal–organic framework-MXene for highly sensitive determination of carbendazim

Herein, a novel ternary composite material has been proposed for the electrochemical detection of carbendazim (CBZ) pesticide. Such Au nanoparticles@zeolitic imidazole framework-L-Ti3C2Tx (AuNPs@ZIF-L-Ti3C2Tx) can be obtained by using few-layer Ti3C2Tx and AuNPs@ZnO as the precursors. The original synthetic route leads to the distinguished morphology of AuNPs@ZIF-L-Ti3C2Tx, which exhibits the salix leaf-like morphology that is accompanied by two kinds of topological structures including the dart-like and carambola-like shapes. More importantly, the unique structure of AuNPs@ZIF-L-Ti3C2Tx contributes to high-performance sensing for the determination of CBZ. A series of control experiments has been performed in order to investigate the structure-activity relationship and sensing mechanism of AuNPs@ZIF-L-Ti3C2Tx. According to the material characterization results and performance testing results, the synergistic effect of AuNPs, ZIF-L and Ti3C2Tx is considered as the key of high-efficiency reaction interface that leads to the electrocatalytic oxidation of CBZ. The established electrochemical sensor based on the non-enzymatic AuNPs@ZIF-L-Ti3C2Tx shows a low limit of detection is 1.2 nM. Notably, the highly sensitive determination of CBZ can be realized by AuNPs@ZIF-L-Ti3C2Tx, owing to 66,684 μA mM−1 cm−2 of sensitivity. The two-stage linear detection ranges are 0.01–0.20 μM and 0.20–20.00 μM. The potential application of AuNPs@ZIF-L-Ti3C2Tx has been displayed to develop high-performance sensor.