Construction of a Ru(phen)2L-Asp/ZnO@Zn(l-tar)(4,4′-bipy)/FTO-based electrochemiluminescence chiral sensor and its application for simultaneous recognition of menthol and penicillamine enantiomers

Abstract

Ru(phen)₃Cl₂ exhibits good ECL response, but it lacks chiral sites and cannot effectively recognize chiral compounds. In this study, a uniform array of ZnO nanorods was synthesized via electrochemical deposition, which served as the zinc source for the subsequent in situ growth of chiral Zn(L-tar)(4,4′-bipy) MOF shells on the nanorod surfaces through a solvothermal method. The Ru(phen)₂L-Asp complex was then immobilized onto the ZnO@Zn(4,4′-bipy)(L-tar)/FTO substrate to construct a novel Ru(phen)₂L-Asp/ZnO@Zn(4,4′-bipy)(L-tar)/FTO electrochemiluminescence (ECL) chiral sensor. This dual-recognition ECL sensor demonstrated excellent capability for simultaneous detection of Pen and Men enantiomers with remarkable quantitative discrimination performance. This strategy represents a significant advancement for developing high-throughput ECL chiral sensing systems.