Fe, Cu dual-atom catalysts assisted molecularly imprinted electrochemiluminescence sensor for ultrasensitive detection of trichlorfon.

Trichlorfon (TCF) has the possibility of contaminating agricultural crops and posing some health risks to humans. Herein, an electrochemiluminescence (ECL) sensor based on Fe, Cu dual-atom catalysts (Fe/Cu-N-C DACs) and Au@Luminol was developed for the ultrasensitive detection of TCF. Fe/Cu-N-C with diatomic sites has a very high catalytic activity and can be used as a co-reaction accelerator to activate HO to generate a large number of hydroxyl radicals which triggered a strong cathodic ECL signal of luminol. TCF molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) was further introduced as a specific recognition element, and the interaction between the template molecule and the functional monomer was verified by molecular docking technique. The developed sensing platform was successfully applied to the ultrasensitive detection of TCF with a linear range from 1.0 pg/mL to 5.0 μg/mL with a low detection limit (0.39 pg/mL). This study broadens the application of DACs in ECL sensing.