Detection of nitrofurazone with metal–organic frameworks and reduced graphene oxide composites: insights from molecular dynamics simulations

Two-dimensional metal-organic framework (MOF) composites were produced by incorporating Fe-MOFs into reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanosheets to form Fe-MOF/rGO composites by hydrothermal synthesis. SEM, TEM, XRD, XPS, and measurements of contact angles were used to characterize the composites. TEM studies revealed that the rod-like-shaped Fe-MOFs were extensively dispersed on the rGO sheets. Incorporating Fe-MOF into rGO significantly improves performance due to the large surface area, chemical stability, and high electrical conductivity. The response signals for the electrochemical sensing performance of Fe-MOF/rGO-modified electrodes to nitrofurazone (NFZ) were significantly enhanced. Differential pulse voltammetry was used to detect the NFZ, and the MOF/rGO sensor possesses a lower detection limit (0.77μM) with two dynamic ranges from 0.6–60 to 128–499.3 μM and high sensitivity (1.909 μA·mM⁻¹·cm⁻²). Moreover, the anti-interference properties of the sensor were quite reproducible and stable. To understand the mechanism responsible for the enhanced sensing performance of the composite, grand canonical Monte Carlo calculations were performed for Fe-MOF/rGO composites with five unit cells of Fe-MOF and four layers of rGO. We attributed the improvement to the fact that the interface between the Fe-MOF and rGO absorbed increased NFZ molecules. The findings reported herein confirm that such Fe-MOF/rGO composites have significantly improved electrochemical performance and practical applicability of sensing nitrofurazone. Graphical abstract