Unusual synthesis of nanostructured Zn-MOF by bipolar electrochemistry in ionic liquid-based electrolyte: Intrinsic alkaline phosphatase-like activity

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) as a unique class of multifunctional materials have increasingly attracted interest. So, the development of available and straightforward strategies for the synthesis of MOFs reminds challenging. Here, we developed an indirect bipolar electrodeposition method to construct a novel and fine nanostructured Zn-MOF on the indium tin oxide (ITO) surface. The room temperature ionic liquid (1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate) is used as an electrolyte, zinc sulfate (monohydrate) as the source of metal ion, and 1,3,5 benzenetricarboxylic acid (BTC) as an organic ligand. The synthesized MOF was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) along with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDAX), grazing Incidence X-ray Diffraction (GIXRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray photo spectroscopy (XPS), and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Furthermore, we have explored the structure of Zn-BTC MOF and their enzyme cofactor's similarity to alkaline phosphatase mimics in aqueous solutions. The proposed MOF nanostructures have been investigated as a promoter for hydrolysis of sodium para-nitrophenylphosphate (PNPP) to para-nitrophenol (PNP) and inorganic phosphate.