Ni-P nanosheets derived from a metal–organic framework containing triptycene ligand: A high-performance electrochemical sensor for glucose determination

Abstract

The synthesis of hierarchical nanostructures using transition metal phosphides (TMPs) derived from metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) has shown good potential in the design of electrochemical sensors. Trypticenes have become attractive organic ligands in the synthesis of MOFs due to their favorable properties. In this study, first, a new MOF using nickel and 2,3,6,7,14,15-hexahydroxy triptycene (Ni-HHTT) has been synthesized through a simple hydrothermal method on nickel foam (NF). Then, during the phosphidation process in an N2 atmosphere, the Ni-HHTT precursor synthesized on nickel foam (Ni-HHTT/NF) was converted into MOFs-derived Ni-P/NF and used as an electrocatalytic sensor in glucose sensing. The fabricated non-enzymatic glucose sensor has a wide concentration range including 0.5–1700 µM and 1700–4100 μM with a low detection limit (0.15 µM). This sensor has advantages such as high sensitivity, accuracy, fast response time (Δt<1.5s), stability, and cost-effectiveness. In addition, the performance of the proposed sensor for measuring glucose in human blood serum samples was evaluated as satisfactory. The proposed strategy provides a new idea for the development of MOF materials based on trypticenes scaffolds and their transition metal phosphide derivatives.