A uniform nanosphere derived from ferrocence-modified
covalent-organic
frameworks (COFETTA‑TPAL-Fc(COOH)2) with
200 nm in diameter was prepared by dehydration condensation reaction
between 4,4′,4′,4′- (ethane-1,1,2,2-tetrayl)
tetraaniline and terephthalaldehyde in the presence of electroactive
Fc(COOH)2. The Fc(COOH)2 was embedded into the
layers of COFETTA‑TPAL to result in the formation
of nanospheres, which increased the specific surface area of the available
COFETTA‑TPAL to provide more active sites due to
the increase in interlayer distance. The Fc(COOH)2 could
interact with H2O2 which might undergo self-disproportionation
process to produce O2 and be reduced into H2O simultaneously, whereas the generated O2 was directly
reduced into H2O by COFETTA‑TPAL. The
reduction peak current of the generated O2 at −0.5
V (j
–0.5 V) was gradually
enhanced, whereas that of Fc(COOH)2 around 0.45 V (j
0.45 V) was decreased with continuous adding
of H2O2. Thus, the COFETTA‑TPAL-Fc(COOH)2 nanospheres were used to fabricate a “on–off”
nonenzymatic H2O2 ratiometric electrochemical
sensor. The proposed “on–off” ratiometric electrochemical
sensor showed good performance with a wide linear range of 1.1–500
μM, high sensitivity of 0.009 μM–1,
and lower detection limit of 0.33 μM. The work would offer insights
for design and preparation of electroactive COF and accelerate the
practical application of COF in electroanalysis.