Nanoluminophores Composed of 1,1′-Ferrocenedicarboxylic Acid and Tetrakis-(4-carboxyphenyl) Porphyrin for Electrochemiluminescence Sensing
Peipei Li, Zhenjuan Xu, Lili Zhao, Haoyu Chen, Xiaohua Zhu, Youyu Zhang, Meiling Liu, Shouzhuo Yao
Abstract
Development of nanoluminophores with high efficiency, good stability, and excellent electronic transfer ability is one of the key challenges in electrochemiluminescence (ECL). Here, a porphyrin-based nanomaterial named Fc-TCPP was synthesized by self-assembly of 1,1′-ferrocenedicarboxylic acid (Fc(COOH)2) and tetrakis-(4-carboxyphenyl) porphyrin (TCPP) under infrared heating light. By tuning the ratio of the precursors, the morphology of Fc-TCPP can be regulated from primitive nanospheres to thorn-ball flowers decorated with branches and particles, and the possible formation mechanism was proposed. Nano-boron carbide (B4C) with carbon defect sites further boosts the ECL performance of Fc-TCPP, and thereby, an ECL biosensor for AFP was constructed innovatively. This study provides a simple and effective strategy for the preparation of ECL nanoluminophores taking the advantages of ferrocene and TCPP, opening a new horizon to design porphyrin-based nanomaterials with various structures and expanding their application in biosensing and disease diagnosis.